Paris police patrol to enforce virus restrictions

(13 Mar 2021) Patrols were deployed in Paris on Saturday to break up crowds, reprimand mask-less shoppers and enforce both a ban on alcohol and the 6pm curfew. Police officers monitored the area outside the vast Les Halles shopping and leisure centre in the centre of the French capital, where locals queued en masse outside shops and fast food restaurants. A group of Order of Malta volunteers tagged along, handing out leaflets and calling people’s attention to the importance of social distancing and basic sanitary precautions. Local authorities are desperate to slow the spread of the coronavirus and its variants in the Paris region where ICU occupancy rates are nearing the peak of last Autumn’s second wave. Regional health authorities announced the delivery of a new batch of Pfizer vaccines over the weekend allowing for thousands more the get a jab. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: