Daytime jogging banned in Paris as France tightens confinement rules
A ban on outdoor physical exercise between 10am and 7pm came into effect in Paris on Wednesday.
“We’ve seen there are too many people in the streets,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo,
underlining that the idea was not to ban exercise but to cut down on the number of people in public at times when residents are also shopping and working.
“During the day, people are doing their shopping, which is natural, and others are going to work.”
Nationwide confinement rules allow people to leave their homes for essential supplies, medical visits, helping the needy and for those required to work,
as well as one-hour sorties for exercise and walking with family members and pets within a kilometre radius.
Officials said short walks with family members and pets were still permitted at all hours and the new restriction was aimed at joggers.
“There are, in certain parts of Paris, too many joggers at the same time, mixed with the population,” said Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire.
“We’ve observed that early in the morning or late in the evening, before 10am or after 7pm, there are fewer people in the streets”.
Local councils oblige face masks, remove benches
The new restrictions in Paris come after Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told state and local councils on Monday they could
toughen measures to ensure physical distancing.
Some local councils have made covering the mouth and nose obligatory, including the Paris suburb of Sceaux, where residents 10 years and older must cover their face before leaving the home.
The city of Béziers in southern France has begun removing benches to avoid people consorting in public.
