What you can and can’t do in Paris under new Covid-19 restrictions,

Bars, restaurants, swimming pools, private parties and more are affected by new public health measures that come into effect in the French capital on Tuesday.

The new restrictions apply to Paris and to its near suburbs, which the government placed on the country's maximum alert level for Covid-19 on Sunday.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said Monday the measures would be reviewed and possibly adjusted after 15 days, meaning the initial period of the new restrictions runs from 6 to 19 October. 

Banned activities

• Bars are closed, as are some cafés and other establishments whose primary activity is serving alcohol.  
• It is forbidden to sell and to consume alcohol and to play music in public places after 10pm.
• Festive gatherings including student parties and family events are banned. 
• Conventions, fairs, expositions, games rooms and dance halls are closed. 

Activities allowed with new limits

• Restaurants and cafés for which serving alcohol is a secondary activity are allowed to remain open if they follow new guidelines:
  • one metre of distance between the chairs of different tables
  • mandatory masks for all staff
  • mandatory masks for customers unless seated
  • maximum six people per table
  • customers leave contact information in a register that the restaurant will provide to health authorities if contact-tracing protocols are activated
  • payment at tables

  Marriage ceremonies are authorised in town halls and in religious establishments, but parties are not authorised. 

  Swimming pools and youth centres are closed to adults but open to minors. 

  Outdoor stadiums and other sports facilities can say open if they do not surpass surpass 50 percent of maximum capacity, with a limit of 1,000 people. 

  Large events cannot exceed 1,000 participants. 
  Shopping centres must limit entries to one person for every four square metres. 

  Visits to care homes for the elderly are authorised within visiting hours if planned in advance and limited to two people. 

  Public gatherings in streets, parks, gardens and elsewhere must not exceed 10 people. Exemptions are made for demonstrations, funerals, outdoor markets, guided visits, construction sites, food distributions and Covid testing sites. 

  Existing measures 

  The new restrictions are added onto a range of preexisting measures that remain in effect. 

  • Wearing a face mask is mandatory in public places, including outdoors. 
  • Sports and fitness centres including gyms remain closed. 
  • Museums, theatres, movie theatres and concert halls reamin open with maximum capacity of 1,000 people and respect for health measures.
  • Libraries remain open with limited activities. Cemeteries also remain open.
  • Public transport assures normal service. Distancing rules and mandatory face masks still apply.