Shops and markets will reopen when France leaves lockdown on 11 May, but restaurants and bars will not, accordring to plans put forward by French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. Face masks will also become compulsory on all public transport.
French nursery schools and primary schools will reopen with limited class sizes when lockdown ends on 11 May, followed by some secondary schools on 18 May. Masks will be compulsory in all schools except nursery schools.
Retailers that reopen will be able to require customers to wear a mask on their premises, he said.
After 11 May, the country will enter a monitoring phase until 2 June, with different rules for each region of France. Areas with most new cases will have the tightest restrictions. “Our national strategy has to be adapted to different circumstances,” Philippe said. “So, we have to live with virus, to end the lockdown progressively and adapt to circumstances; these are the three elements of our strategy.”
The lockdown will only end if the number of new daily infections drops below 3,000 by 11 May, he said.
The French National Assembly will now debate the plans.
Philippe also announced a government ambition to test 700,000 people a week for coronavirus, including everyone that has come into contact with an infected person.
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