Bars and cafes are being forced to close for two weeks starting Tuesday, and restaurants are being forced to tighten procedures, as Paris raises its Covid alert level to the highest.
The British Isles are also at risk of being shut down.
There have been no improvements in the French capital since the middle of last week, when three criteria for the highest alert level were reached.
The employers' organization UMIH has warned that 33,000 businesses in the hotel and restaurant industries, among others, could go bankrupt as a result of the corona restrictions, with up to a quarter of a million employees facing notice. The organization is relieved that restaurants are allowed to remain open, but describes the closure of bars as extremely worrying.
The restrictions are tough for everyone involved, admits Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
”"We are French. We love to drink, to eat, to live, to smile and to kiss each other," he says.
The rules will come into effect on Tuesday and will be valid for 15 days, after which they will be reviewed. On Monday, the government is expected to clarify in more detail what the tightened restrictions entail.
Employees are also being urged to work from home, and university lecture halls are only allowed to be half full under the stricter restrictions.
On Saturday, France reported 17,000 new coronavirus cases, the highest number since the country began widespread testing. In the Paris region, almost one in three intensive care beds is occupied by a COVID patient.
In other cities such as Lille, Lyon, Grenoble and Toulouse, the limits of the highest alert level are approaching, and tightened restrictions are probably to be expected.
In Marseille, however, the situation is easing. Restaurants there were also closed a week ago. Now they are allowed to reopen under the same rules as those in Paris.
Tighter restrictions are also being considered elsewhere in Europe. In Ireland, a medical expert group is recommending that the country raise restrictions to level five, the highest level, from the current level two in most of the country, and three in Dublin and Donegal.
Prime Minister Michael Martin is due to discuss the recommendations with his two coalition colleagues today. Level five means people are urged to stay home, except for exercise within five kilometres, and that only essential shops are allowed to remain open.
According to The Guardian The UK is planning to introduce a new three-tier system of restrictions, which could mean tougher measures than the country has previously experienced if the spread is uncontrolled. According to the newspaper, the highest level could mean that people are not allowed to meet people outside their own household and that all hospitality businesses are forced to close.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has passed 35 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. compilation. The number of deaths from COVID-19 is just over one million.
