More Paris shops to close at night to tackle worsening COVID-19 crisis

Paris will be placed under more restrictions, including closing more shops in the evenings, to curb the  worsening COVID-19 pandemic, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told BFM TV on Thursday.

Hidalgo said the added restrictions entail shutting down shops selling takeaway food and drinks at 10 p.m. on top of the existing national lockdown that has been imposed throughout France.

President Emmanuel Macron imposed a new lockdown last month, forcing non-essential shops, such as those not selling basic food or medicines, to close and making people use signed documents to justify being out on the streets.

On Wednesday, France reported 40,558 new COVID-19 cases and a further 385 deaths, taking the country's total death toll from COVID-19 to 38,674 while the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at around 1.5 million.