Paris Bars to Close as French Capital Placed on Maximum Covid Alert

"But we're also doing this because the people want us to," he added.

BFM television on Sunday published a poll saying that 61 percent of people living in the French capital and its suburbs were in favor of a complete closure of Paris bars, currently authorized to remain open until 10pm.

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Mayor Hidalgo told reporters on Sunday: "It's not a done deal, there is still work being done, we're still talking." But she also conceded that the health situation was "very serious".

The government has said it will primarily target establishments that "serve alcoholic drinks without food".

Restaurants have suggested voluntary restrictions such as registering the home addresses of their guests and limiting the number of people at each table.

Other large French cities including Lille, Lyon, Grenoble and Toulouse are also hovering near the maximum Covid alert threshold and similar measures to those in the capital could be in store for them, too.

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Employer organization UMIH, which represents cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, brasseries, and discos, has warned that around 33,000 establishments are facing bankruptcy because of virus restrictions, with up to 250,000 staff facing unemployment.

"We're happy for the restaurants (but) extremely alarmed for the bars that will be closed for two weeks," UMIH's Paris Region President Franck Delvau told AFP.

Most insurers would be unwilling to pay compensation for loss of revenue, he added.

The government has said it will take every precaution necessary to avoid a new state of emergency that would require a generalized lockdown like the one imposed at the height of the outbreak, from mid-March to mid-May.

More than 32,000 people have died from Covid-19 in France with another 49 fatalities on Saturday. 

(Writer: Jacques Klopp)

Source: http://u.afp.com/3zXs