On 15 December, France will end the strict lockdown and will implement a curfew between 20:00 and 06:00 instead. This was announced at a press conference by Prime Minister Jean Castex, held on 10 December. This way, the country officially enters phase two out of three of the previously announced plan for lifting coronavirus restrictions.
The rules in France remain stricter than expected
The newly announced rules are, however, stricter than what French President Emmanuel Macron had initially announced a couple of weeks ago. As of next Tuesday, the following rules will be valid in France:
- End of the requirement for certificates and authorization for travel between regions;
- Implementing a curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (starts one hour earlier than what had been initially announced);
- Cinemas, theatres and museums and other cultural institutions with public admittance will not open for another three weeks, contrary to popular expectations. Their reopening is envisioned for 7 January;
- Prohibition of public gatherings.
According to Health Minister Olivier Véran, the situation has significantly improved since the introduction of the second lockdown. However, with a slightly rising number of new infections recently, France has not gotten through the second coronavirus wave yet and therefore, caution is still needed.
Respectively – restrictions will not be lifted as previewed in order to avoid a third lockdown.
The abovementioned restrictions are expected to last until 20 January, when the third stage is set to continue, should the epidemiological situation allow for this. This means that French citizens will be able to travel for the holidays but will have to be at home on New Year’s Eve before 20:00 in the evening. There will be an exception for Christmas Eve, though, when the curfew will not apply.
Source: TheMayor.EU