PARIS (Reuters) – French police cleaned the banks of the River Seine in central Paris on Saturday over concerns that people were getting too close together and not respecting the rules of social distance from the coronavirus.
Hundreds of people were asked to leave the area – popular for walking and picnics on sunny days – and police officers closed the river banks for the rest of the day.
“Social distance rules are not being respected,” police shouted through a megaphone.
Police have regularly cleared the area in warmer weather in recent weeks, taking people out to take advantage of the sun before a curfew starts from 6pm to 6am.
Paris police banned the consumption of alcohol by the river on Friday and asked people to limit their gatherings.
The government has opposed the return of the capital and the surrounding area, despite an increase in coronavirus cases and a growing number of patients in the capital’s intensive care units.
The country reported 23,306 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, just under 23,507 on Friday. There were 170 new deaths, bringing the total to 88,444.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex promised to accelerate vaccine roll-out, including over the weekend, in two dozen high-risk zones to avert further restrictions after criticizing the slow progress of vaccination in the country.
“220,000 French will be vaccinated this Saturday at 5.30 pm, more than twice as many as last Saturday. We will continue tomorrow, ”said Health Minister Oliver Veran on Twitter.
On Saturday, 3.581 million people received a first injection in France.
Reporting by Michel Rose; Written by John Irish; Editing by Frances Kerry and Christina Fincher