President Emmanuel Macron told French residents to stay at home from Tuesday except for essential excursions such as going to the doctor, walking the dog, or going for a solitary run, and banned any gatherings.
France’s two-week lockdown is likely to be extended, as the interior minister blasted ‘idiots’ flouting the home confinement rules. However many people have been seen congregating in public especially in areas of high immigration.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner accused people of underestimating the risk, telling Europe 1 radio: ‘There are people who think they are modern-day heroes by breaking the rules while they are in fact idiots.’
One national police union urged officers to refuse tasks that brought them into close proximity with the public because of a face mask shortage.
This comes as Police in Paris will be stepping up security checks in train stations from today, as France ramps up its lockdown measures.
Any train passengers without the necessary documentation to justify their rail journey could be fined 135 euros.
Macron on Thursday deplored that too many people seem to take the confinement measures ‘lightly’.
A source told Le Parisien news outlet that four people were in cells in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, north of the capital city, while the fifth was in the northern Pas-de-Calais for flouting the new rules.
All face a charge of ‘endangering the lives of others’, which is punishable with up to one year in prison and a fines equivalent to £14,000.
Lead Correspondent | David Clews is the Lead Correspondent for UNN, with over 20 years of political/campaigning experience and a wealth of social media and communication skills David gets to the heart of what is really important to the real people of the UK.
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