Tough Coronavirus restrictions in France are being relaxed slightly from Tuesday.
People are now allowed to leave their homes for any reason, rather than only for certain purposes as was the case during the country’s most recent lockdown, in place since the end of October.
A partial night-time curfew has been imposed however: people can only go outside for specific reasons between 8.00 pm and 6.00 am, and must fill in an online form to do so.
These reasons include: work, taking care of children or medical emergencies, as well as taking pets for a walk.
Doing sport outside or simply taking a walk is not allowed.
For many, however, the relaxation of the rules will not feel very different as the lockdown was not so strictly enforced.
Cinemas, theatres and museums were meant to open this week, but this has been delayed until the rate of new infections drops further, and is now expected to happen on Jan. 7.
Looking further ahead, President Emmanuel Macron had announced that restaurants would reopen on Jan. 20, but his prime minister, Jean Castex, said on Tuesday that this was not a fixed date.
“It will depend on how we cope with the holiday period,” he said. (dpa/NAN)
