The streets of Paris and eight other French cities were deserted on Saturday night as a new curfew was enforced.
The controversial overnight curfew is aimed at curbing the soaring Covid-19 infection rate in France, which is one of Europe’s coronavirus hotspots.
There have been complaints from restaurant owners, whose businesses are already suffering after the two-month lockdown in the spring.
New measures are also to be announced in Italy due to a rise in cases.
Italy, which was the first European country to be hit significantly by Covid in the first wave, registered a record number of new daily cases on Saturday.
In France, about 20 million French people are covered by the month-long curfew in cities including Marseille, Lyon, Lille and Toulouse, as well as the capital. The curfew runs from 21:00 to 06:00 every night.
President Emmanuel Macron said the curfews were necessary to avoid the risk of hospitals being overrun. But many are concerned about the effect it could have on businesses.
