[ad_1]
PARIS: A few small shops and services, including a dog grooming salon, remained open on Saturday (October 31) in a small town outside Paris with the support of its local mayor, amid signs of sporadic pushback against a new coronavirus lockdown in France.
In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo also joined a growing wave of support for independent booksellers, saying in an interview published Sunday that she would bring local authorizations to remain open.
The French government implemented new restrictions on Friday to combat the resurgence of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, echoing a two-month shutdown earlier this year. This time, the schools will remain open, but all non-essential stores are supposed to close.
In the small town of Yerres, stores such as shoe stores remained open under a local edict.
“I think you take much less risk buying your book or your shoes or your clothes in a small store where there are not many people than in a large superstore,” Mayor Olivier Clodong told Reuters, adding that he found it unfair that hypermarkets , which sell food, could remain open.
READ: France reports 49,215 new COVID-19 cases over 24 hours
READ: France and Germany lock in as second wave of COVID-19 sweeps Europe
Police visited the beauty salon in Yerres where a dog was being shampooed, but they did not issue a fine on the spot. Authorities have said they will be tolerant at the start of the shutdown, which began on Friday.
About 20 other mayors took similar action in other parts of France on Saturday, said BFM TV.
The revolt has focused especially on the booksellers.
“Together with other cities, we will take a joint initiative, following the one already taken in Dijon, to allow the reopening of independent bookstores,” Paris Mayor Hidalgo told the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper.
He also asked the government to allow museums to remain open, with strict sanitary protocols and limits on visitors.
One bookstore in Yerres, as well as many in central Paris, tried to stay open by operating “click and collect” services that allow people to pick up books ordered online or by phone at the door.
Also in an interview with the JDD, Junior Finance Minister Olivier Dussopt said that the government, which is implementing support for businesses, including reduced welfare bills and partial unemployment schemes, would stick to its plan to reassess the situation of retailers in two weeks.
“Edicts issued by mayors are illegal and they know it,” Dussopt said.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
