Illustration of a bar in Strasbourg. – G. Varela / 20Minutes
- Any gathering of more than 100 people, indoors and outdoors, is now prohibited.
- The government measure aims to slow the circulation of the coronavirus.
–
This is one of the new strong measures announced this Friday by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus in France: gatherings of more than 100 people
are now prohibited (including employees), in enclosed spaces as well as outdoors, until further notice.
The activities affected by these restrictions will be numerous. The prefectures, responsible for communicating on the consequences for the population, gave an overview this Friday afternoon.
Bars, restaurants, cinemas, theaters but also nightclubs, for example, are immediately affected by the ban on bringing more than 100 people together in one place, confirmed on Friday afternoon on Prefect of the Pays-de-la-Loire region. Associative meetings, worship ceremonies, weddings, funerals are also affected. The only exceptions: food shops and transport.
A distance of one meter to respect
As if that were not enough, the State also recommends professionals and organizers to take measures allowing the respect of a “distance of about one meter” between each client or person present. Not easy in a bar or a nightclub…
“There will be random checks on the part of the state services to verify that these provisions are applied,” warns Claude d’Harcourt, the prefect of Pays-de-la-Loire, who recalls that the state invites each “to show civility” in this “exceptional period”.
The 1,000 rule is over
“Our objective is to protect the health of the French no matter what, but it is also to preserve the continuity of the life of the nation,” said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
On Sunday, the government announced through Minister of Health Olivier Véran the ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people, until April 15, both in the open air and in an enclosed environment.
–
