France’s Saint-Tropez Resort Makes Masks Mandatory Outdoors

Municipal police watch that pedestrians wear the mandatory facemasks in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Saturday Aug 8, 2020. The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez is requiring face masks outdoors starting Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

SAINT-TROPEZ, France (AP) — The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez began requiring face masks outdoors Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties.

More French cities and towns, especially in tourist areas, are imposing mask requirements as the country’s coronavirus infections creep up again. More than 2,000 new infections were reported on Friday — the country’s biggest single-day rise since May.

The uptick corresponds with France’s beloved summer holidays, when vacationers head off in droves, often to the seashore, for festive gatherings with family and friends.

As of Saturday, wearing a mask outdoors was also compulsory in some crowded parts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city. Paris will apply similar measures in the most crowded areas of the capital starting on Monday.

France has already made mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor public spaces nationwide.

In Saint-Tropez’s famed resort, a top spot for the international jet set, several restaurants had to reclose for two weeks after some staff tested positive for the virus.

Posters warning that masks were mandatory were displayed across the town center on Saturday, including its picturesque port, the open-air farmers market and the narrow streets of the old town lined with chic shops and art galleries.

Georges Giraud, deputy mayor of Saint Tropez, stressed that the order issued by the Var Prefecture will “make it easier because everybody is supposed to wear a mask.”

Police were giving masks free to visitors who didn’t have one but starting on Monday, those without one risk a fine of 135 euros ($159). The measure does not apply to children under 11.

Marc Rickebuche, a tourist from the northern French city of Lille, said “I think it a good decision to protect yourself and to protect the others to avoid having again a new lockdown at the end of the summer.”

Health authorities on Friday reported 9,330 new infections this week and said the virus is increasingly spreading ’’especially among young adults.”

France, which was under a strict two-month lockdown during spring, has reported more than 30,300 deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes. Experts say all reported figures in all countries undercount the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing, missed mild cases and other factors.

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French Way Of Life To Resume With Restaurants Reopening, Starting June 2nd.

PARIS (AP) — The French way of life is set to largely resume next week, June 2, with most virus-related restrictions easing as the country prepares for the summer holiday season amid the pandemic.

In a speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe promised that “freedom will, at last, again become the rule.”

France is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus and was under strict lockdown for two months before starting to ease restrictions on May 11. Authorities have reported at least 28,596 COVID-19-related deaths.

From June 2 restaurants and cafes will reopen, together with monuments and museums, concert halls and theaters, beaches, campsites, gyms and public swimming pools.

There’s a notable exception for the Paris region, the country’s worst-affected by the virus, where many facilities will have to wait until June 22 to reopen.

Philippe said the French are yearning for cafes and restaurants to reopen, noting that these “are part of our art of living.”

Diners will be no more than 10 to a table, with at least 1 meter (3 feet) separating each group. Clients will have to wear masks when they move around the restaurant and staff will have to wear them all the time.

In the Paris region, only outdoor seating will be allowed.

Cinemas won’t reopen before June 22.

And as the summer holiday season looms, the French will be allowed again to travel freely across the country — instead of being limited to 100 kilometers (60 miles) from home now.

“You can move around, you can go on your annual holidays but it’s probably more reasonable to delay a long trip if that is possible,” Philippe said.

France aims at reopening its borders with other European countries on June 15, he said.

As France is the world’s most popular tourist destination, the government urged the French to book vacations at home this summer, in the hope it will help to relaunch the economy.

Philippe also pledged to revive “cultural and sport life.” Most shops reopened on May 11, and hotels are now awaiting clients.

Philippe defended the gradual lifting of the lockdown up to now, saying the strategy was meant to avoid triggering a second wave.

“The virus is still present,” but “under control at this stage,” Philippe said.

Yet “our biggest adversary is very big gatherings,” he warned.

Public gatherings larger than 10 people are still banned, contact sports are not allowed and night clubs and stadiums will remain closed.

Work-from-home is still recommended when possible.

Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said schools will open more broadly next week, with classes capped at 15 students. High schools, which were still closed, will also reopen next week.

By SYLVIE CORBET

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AP writer John Leicester contributed to the story.

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Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak