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French President Emmanuel Macron
Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron wants shops, cultural institutions and outdoor areas of restaurants to gradually reopen in mid-May.
On May 19, the start of the nationwide evening curfew is to be postponed from currently 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Macron announced in an interview with several regional newspapers.
On June 9, the curfew should not begin until 11 p.m.
Then cafes, restaurants and fitness studios should also be allowed to reopen completely.
The newspaper "Le Parisien" published excerpts from the conversation on Thursday.
The entire interview should appear on Friday.
The corona situation in France remains tense, but has recently improved slightly.
Most recently, a good 300 new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants were counted within a week.
The situation in the intensive care units remains extremely difficult.
According to the »Parisien«, sporting activities indoors and outdoors should be allowed again after May 19, stadiums may open, as well as museums, cinemas and theaters.
Similar to cultural institutions, there are also restrictions on the number of visitors in stadiums.
Health passport should enable festivals
Gatherings of more than ten people in public space are therefore prohibited.
The number is currently six.
The curfew is to be finally lifted on June 30th.
With a kind of health pass it should be possible to participate in certain events, even if they include more than 1,000 people outdoors.
This should pave the way for festivals.
Macron also confirmed that certain movement restrictions will be lifted by May 3.
At the moment, people in France are not allowed to move further than ten kilometers from their home without a valid reason.
This regulation should then no longer apply.
mfh / dpa