France imposes nightly 8pm curfew, including on New Year’s Eve

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The French prime minister has announced an 8pm curfew due to the coronavirus pandemic, which will also apply on New Year’s Eve.

However, it is set to be waived on Christmas Eve. 

Announcing new measures as France eases out of lockdown, the prime minister said there will be a curfew between 8pm and 6am, and made clear there would be no exception for celebrations for the new year.

Jean Castex, the French PM, outlined what the next stage will look like on Thursday, tweeting the new rules — which come into force from 15 December — “will be stricter than we initially envisioned”. 

France will not reopen museums, cinemas and theatres next week as planned because Covid-19 infection rates are not falling as fast as the government had hoped, he said.

The national lockdown - which was imposed at the end of October - was due to be partially lifted from Tuesday, with plans to reopen cultural venues. 

However, this was contingent on the number of new cases of infection dropping to around 5,000 a day - which France is on target to miss. 

Though transmission rates are several times lower than they were at the peak of the second wave, France is currently recording an average of 11,368 new cases each day, according to Reuters data.

While it was always the plan to replace the national stay-at-home order - which has been in place for more than a month -  with a curfew from next Tuesday, the one originally planned would have started at 9pm and not covered New Year’s Eve. 

"We are not yet at the end of this second wave, and we will not reach the objectives we had set for 15 December," Mr Castex told a news conference on Thursday.

Addressing the nation, he said: “I understand your weariness, your doubts, your suffering. I share them. But, first of all, I owe you truth and transparency over this epidemic, which is lasting longer than we would have liked.”

He added: “But my role - and government’s one - is to protect you, even if it means taking difficult decisions.”

France took the first steps in easing lockdown measures at the end of November, expanding rules on how far people were allowed to go for exercise from their house, and allowing religious services to take place. 

Additional reporting by Reuters