Paris Goes into Lockdown

France’s Prime Minister has imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of the north after coronavirus variants were detected.

The lockdown affects the 16 hardest-hit departments in the greater Paris region, the northern Hauts-de-France region, Seine et Marne and the southern Alpes-Maritimes zone.

Schools will stay open and people will be allowed to exercise outdoors within a 10 km radius of their homes. People living in these areas will not be allowed to travel to other parts of France without a compelling reason. Shops selling essential goods and bookstores will also stay open.

A nationwide night-time curfew, which has been in place since mid-December, remains in force, though it will begin an hour later, at 7pm.