Fears of a second wave

PARIS • The French headed back to their beloved cafes and restaurants yesterday after weeks cooped up in coronavirus confinement, marking a further step towards normality.

As thousands thronged parks and gardens that were reopened at the weekend, eating and drinking establishments prepared to welcome back customers in the second phase of a step-by-step lifting of the lockdown.

"We have spent several hours cleaning," said Mr Theo Stuzmann, head waiter of the renowned Maison Kammerzell restaurant in Strasbourg, eastern France.

And a second, more thorough round of disinfection was due before it opened yesterday, he said.

When the clock struck midnight, staff threw open the doors of the Prison de Bouffay steak restaurant in the French city of Nantes and welcomed a queue of around 100 people who had been waiting for their first dining-out experience since the lockdown began.

The French can again "live a life which is almost normal", Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said last week, as he announced the reopenings.

But in Paris, where the coronavirus remains more active than in the rest of mainland France, cafes, bars and restaurants will be limited to outside terraces. To cater for the expected rush back to the city's eateries, the city council gave special permission for tables to be placed on sidewalks and other public places. Several roads will also be closed to traffic.

The government credits France's strict lockdown, which lasted from March 17 to May 11, with saving thousands of lives by relieving pressure on hospitals, but is eager to restart an economy devastated by the measures. The country, which has suffered nearly 29,000 deaths, also faces a historic recession, said Mr Philippe, and a sharp rise in unemployment claims.

The spread of the virus appears to be under control in most of France, designated "green zones". But the Paris Ile-de-France region and the overseas territories of French Guiana and Mayotte, still in the higher-risk "orange" category, face slower easing of restrictions.

Across the country, public gatherings of more than 10 people are still banned until June 21. And people still have to wear masks on public transport and at stations and airports.

People can dine together in restaurants in groups of no more than 10, with a minimum distance of 1m between tables.

All beaches were also permitted to reopen from yesterday, and weddings can once again be celebrated.

Primary and middle schools will open countrywide, as well as high schools in green zones - but progressively and with a limited number of students per class.

Epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet struck a note of caution. "Every day, there are five new (outbreak) clusters... we have had more than 100 clusters declared since May 11, so we can see that the virus is still present," he warned on BFMTV.

France's StopCovid mobile app, which alerts users if they have been in close proximity of someone who tested positive for the virus, was set to come into use yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS