Covid-19 in France: bars, cafés and restaurants to reopen

Details of the second phase of Covid-19 deconfinement in France have been announced for Tuesday June 2, with bars and restaurants set to reopen, travel restrictions of 100km lifted, beaches and lakes open, and theatres open for business.

The whole of mainland France is now designated as having ‘green’ levels of the coronavirus, except ‘orange’ Ile-de-France, which will see a more gradual re-opening.Yesterday, France saw fewer than 100 deaths from Covid-19 for the seventh consecutive day.

Announcing the measures, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: “We are in a better place than where we expected to be.”

He did, however, advise caution. “The speed of the virus’ spread is, at this stage, under control.” With Covid-19 “still present”, vigilance is still required, he added.

What you can do from Tuesday June 2:

• Go to a café, bar or restaurant. The conditions are: one metre social distancing from other tables, 10 people max per table, terrace service only in Paris, staff must wear masks, customers must wear masks to move around but can remove them when seated
• Travel anywhere in France (ie. more than 100 kilometres from your home) without an certificate
• Go to the theatre or a concert hall, again with social distancing measures and mask-wearing obligatory
• Go to the swimming pool and gym (in green zones only; those in Ile-de-France must wait until June 22)
• Visit a museum or national monument (mask obligatory)
• Head to the beach or lake (though local authorities can impose restrictions if they wish)
• All secondary school or high schools set to reopen
• Parks and gardens, including now those in Paris, are free to now open this weekend

What you cannot do

• Cinemagoers will need to wait until June 22 to watch a film, and nightclubs will remain closed
• Contact sports are also forbidden

Tourism gets the green light

In a boost for French tourism, all hotels, gîtes and B&Bs (barring Ile-de-France) are free to reopen from June 2.
Travel into France is still heavily restricted and UK arrivals can voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days, though Mr Philippe said that France would reopen its borders with other European countries on June 15.