Around the world, elderly people are paying a heavy price during the Covid-19 pandemic: they are both the most vulnerable to the disease and the worst affected by lockdowns. In France, some senior citizens literally had no contact with anyone for weeks on end during the first lockdown, when visits to nursing homes were banned. Our team went to meet French pensioners left isolated by the pandemic but also the volunteers helping them feel less lonely. James André, Eléonore Vanel, Marie Schuster, Julie Dungelhoeff and Noémie Roche report.
