From 8 am, Friday August 28, wearing a mask will be de rigueur in all the streets of Paris and in the three neighboring departments. The measure announced Thursday by the Paris Police Prefecture concerns pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, as well as jogging or scooter enthusiasts. Failure to comply would result in a fine of 135 euros.

Prime Minister Jean Castex "asked the prefect of police to extend, in consultation with the elected officials concerned, the obligation to wear the mask in the entire public space in Paris and across all three departments of the small crown: Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne, "said the police headquarters in a press release.

On the other hand, "users traveling inside motor vehicles (private cars, vans or heavy goods vehicles for professionals) will be exempt from this obligation", specifies the prefecture.

>> Read also on France24.com: In Europe, an anti-mask movement fueled by an "anti-system imaginary"

"It will take a few days" to get into the habit

The deputy to the City of Paris Anne Souyris, who had the first announced this generalization of the wearing of the mask in Paris, suggested that there could punctually be a period of tolerance in the first times.

"It will take a few days" to get into the habit and "initially verbalization is not relevant," she said. But the prefecture hammered out in its press release that the state services would be "mobilized to enforce this obligation", liable to a fine of 135 euros in the event of a contravention.

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday morning an imminent generalization of the wearing of a mask in Paris, but without giving a more precise date.

“As Paris fills up” since “families are returning”, “it makes sense to take on new habits,” Ms. Souyris underlined.

"The deterioration of the health situation, with an active circulation of the virus in the Parisian agglomeration, which tends to accelerate, leads the prefect of police [of Paris] and the prefects of Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts- de-Seine and Val-de-Marne, to take this strong measure, in the general interest ", for its part estimated the prefecture.

With AFP

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