France’s capital has banned daytime outdoor exercise while the rest of the country can continue (Picture: AFP)

All outdoor exercise between 10am and 7pm is now banned in the French capital after officials lost their patience with people ignoring social distancing rules.

Parisians were seen walking and jogging in groups in the city’s parks over the sunny weekend despite the threat of on-the-spot fines upwards of €135 (£120) for violating lockdown rules.

France has been under one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns for nearly a month, requiring everyone to have a printed form stating their reason for being outside every time they leave the home.

The rest of the country is still allowed out to exercise within half a mile of their address, shop for essentials, or see a doctor.


A couple, both Olympic judo wrestlers, shared their home workouts in Paris (Picture: AFP)

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said the new rules would make people exercise ‘when the streets are generally at their quietest’.



France’s death toll has passed 10,000, the fourth-highest officially-reported figure after Italy, Spain and the US.

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The government’s health minister, Olivier Véran, said on Tuesday that the country is still in a ‘worsening phase of the epidemic’.

Spain, the second-worst hit country in Europe after Italy, has had an outright ban on outdoor exercise since its lockdown was introduced.

The daytime ban is intended to spread people’s outdoor time more evenly throughout the day (Picture:AFP)

An exception was granted for people walking their dogs, which led to a black market of pet-owners renting their animals out to others so they could go outside.

Parisians might now take inspiration from some of the viral social media clips showing the creative ways Spaniards have tried to maintain their fitness – such as gym classes delivered by an instructor on his roof to rows of people on balconies across the street.

Many countries in Europe are now plotting a course to end their lockdowns, and some have started easing restrictions.

People in the Czech Republic have had to wear facemasks outside at all times by law, but can from today leave home without one.

Some sports facilities such as tennis courts are now allowed to reopen as long as no more than two people play in a group, and shops selling certain non-essential goods will open from Thursday.

A fitness instructor in Spain ran classes from a rooftop (Picture: @sanosevillabermejales)

Denmark and Austria, which were two of the first European countries to go into lockdown, will start a slow exit from next week.

Denmark will reopen nurseries and primary schools from April 15, while Austria will allow small shops, DIY stores and garden centres to open from April 14.

The German government has drawn up an action plan to phase in a step-by-step return to normality, including mandatory mask-wearing in public, limits on gatherings and the rapid tracing of infection chains, according to Reuters.

However, the plan assumes the pandemic will last through to 2021.

Disease experts in a number of countries have warned that, until a vaccine is developed, there may be no way to end the lockdown without the virus spreading again.

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