Coronavirus: Police increase Covid lockdown checks in Paris

French prime minister says compliance is not as high as during first set of national restrictions

Police have stepped up checks in the French capital to make sure people are following the lockdown rules (AFP via Getty Images)

Parisians have faced greater police checks to make sure they are following the rules of France’s new lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. 

Officers in the capital increased their controls over the weekend, amid signs some residents were not ignoring the stricter measures which have been in place since the end of October.

People have been ordered to stay indoors unless it is to buy food or other essential goods, or for an hour of exercise, during France’s second lockdown to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Those who go outside must carry a signed document explaining their reasons.

Jean Castex, the French prime minister, has said people are not going by the rules as strictly as they did during the first national lockdown, when similar measures were in place.

Police broke up an illegal party hosting up to 400 people at Joinville-Le-Pont near the French capital early on Saturday.

The Paris police force was fully mobilised at the weekend as officers carried out checks, according to the city’s police department.

The Prefecture de Police  used social media to warn residents that checks were taking place across the capital, including in parks, woods, squares and on the roads, and to remind people to wear masks.

A French landscape gardener who gave his name as Jules – and was stopped by police while out on his moped – said he had noticed a pick-up in controls.

"I find there were a lot of checks during the first lockdown, while it has been light in terms of checks in the beginning of this one, to be honest," he said. "However, I did notice that checks have been tightened over the past three days."

Meanwhile Stephane, a construction worker, was caught outside on his moped without the necessary form – which he had forgotten to download.  

"Forgetting it is quite expensive," he said, after being handed a €135 (£121) fine.

France has been in its second lockdown for around two weeks, after Emmanuel Macron announced stricter measures in a bid to combat the spread of coronavirus. 

Announcing restrictions would get tighter from the end of October, the French president said the country was “overwhelmed by the pace at which the virus is spreading”.

On Saturday, the number of new coronavirus cases in France rose sharply across the previous 24 hours, with around 32,000 infections added to the national tally. 

The government has said it may extend the lockdown beyond 1 December – when it is planned to end – if infection rates do not fall.

Additional reporting by Reuters