Last call, mon ami: Paris bars to close

French region, under virus alert, also bans festive events but lets restaurants stay open.

PARIS — French authorities placed the Paris region on maximum coronavirus alert Monday, banning festive gatherings and ordering bars to close but allowing restaurants to remain open.

With coronavirus infections rising rapidly, Paris police prefect Didier Lallement said the new limits would apply for at least two weeks.

“We are continuously adapting to the reality of the virus. We are taking measures to slow down” its spread, he said.

French authorities consider bars to be major transmission hot spots because patrons don’t respect social distancing rules as much as they do at restaurants.

Starting Tuesday, bars will be closed in Paris and its suburbs.

Student parties and all other festive and family events in establishments open to the public will be banned.

Restaurants will remain open but under strict conditions. They include a minimum distance of slightly more than three feet between each table, groups limited to six people instead of the previously allowed 10 and a request to register customers’ names and phone numbers to help with any necessary contact tracing.

Indoor sport facilities, including swimming pools, will be open to children younger than 18 only. Gyms are already closed.

Cinemas, theaters and museums will remain open with strict hygiene rules, but fairs and professional shows won’t be allowed.

Authorities have maintained the limit of 1,000 spectators per day at big sports events, allowing the French Open tennis tournament to continue this week.

The director of the Paris regional health authority, Aurelien Rousseau, said that about 3,500 new virus cases are confirmed on average each day in the region, and 36% of intensive care beds in the area are occupied by COVID- 19 patients.

Authorities ordered the shutdown of all public venues in the southern city of Marseille and Aix- en- Provence, which prompted rallies from angry business owners in Marseille.

France has reported more than 32,300 virus- related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.