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Masks compulsory on the street in parts of Paris from Monday

Wearing a mask became compulsory in certain streets in Paris and its surrounding suburbs from 8am on Monday.

Masks compulsory on the street in parts of Paris from Monday
Photo: PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP

Masks will be obligatory for all those aged 11 and over from 8am on Monday “in certain very crowded zones”, the police said in a statement on Saturday.

“All the indicators show that since mid-July the virus is again circulating more actively in the region,” the police said, adding that some 400 people were testing positive for Covid-19 in the region every day, with the 20-30 age group particularly affected.

Paris follows many other towns and cities across France were local rules have been imposed making masks compulsory in the street. National laws make masks compulsory in all indoor public areas, at risk of a €135 fine.

Map: Préfecture de Police. For the interactive version, click here

The new rules apply to the city of Paris and the départements of Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Hauts-de-Seine – all areas that are on the list of départements with high numbers of new Covid-19 cases.

In Val d'Oise masks became compulsory in all open-air markets from Monday, and the préfecture says it will release further details on other areas later in the week.

Within Paris a list has been produced of dozens of streets where the new measure is compulsory including along the banks of Seine, busy central streets, all outdoor markets and the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin and Bassin de la Villette (full list below).

 

MAP Which areas of France are 'of concern' to health authorities over Covid-19 cases

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo announced last week that she had requested the police to begin work on making masks compulsory in some open areas of the capital.

Anne Souyris, the deputy Paris mayor in charge of health, said: “The aim is to slow down the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic.

“A second wave is expected. There is an urgent need to reinforce barrier gestures if we do not want to reach a new lockdown.”

“Wearing a mask is difficult, especially when it's hot. If the zones are chosen intelligently, Parisians will wear it.”

Paris police chief Didier Lallement decided to extend the measure to the capital's suburbs, in consultation with local authorities.

Full the full list of streets where masks will be compulsory in Hauts-de-Seine, click here.

For the full list of streets in Val-de-Marne click here.

For the full list of streets in Seine-Saint-Denis click here.

Paris

Central arrondissements

– rue Montorgueil

– Enfants Rouges market

– rue Rambuteau

– rue de Bretagne

– rue des Francs Bourgeois

– rue Saint-Honoré

– rue de Montmartre

5th and 6th arrondissements

– rue Mouffetard

– rue de Buci

– rue de Seine

– rue Mazarine

– rue Jacques Callot

– rue Princesse

– rue des Canettes

– rue Guisarde

– Saint-Germain market

– Jardin Tino Rossi

7th arrondissement

– rue Clerc

– Avenue de Saxe market

9th arrondissement

– rue des Martyrs

– rue Cadet

– Anvers market

10th arrondissement

– rue de Metz

– boulevard de Strasbourg

– rue du Château d'Eau between Faubourg St Martin and Faubourg St Denis

– rue Cail

– rue Perdonnet

– rue Philippe de Girard

– place Ian Karski

– rue Louis Blanc between Place Karski and Faubourg Saint-Denis

– rue du Faubourg Saint Denis

– rue Lucien Sampaix

– rue de Lancry

– rue des Vinaigriers

– Banks of the Canal Saint-Martin

11th arrondissement

– rue de la Roquette,

– rue de Lappe

– rue Keller

– rue Daval

– rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud

– Belleville market

– rue Oberkampf

12th arrondissement

– Bercy-Village

– Cour Saint-Emilion

– Aligre market

13th arrondissement

– quai François Mauriac

– quai de la gare

– Bibliothèque Nationale de France 

– Maison-Blanche market, Avenue d'Italie

14th arrondissement

– rue Daguerre

– rue Raymond Losserand (between rue d'Alésia and avenue du Maine)

15th arrondissement

– rue du Commerce

– rue Linois

16th arrondissement

– rue de Passy

– rue de l'Annonciation

17th arrondissement

– avenue de Saint-Ouen

– rue de Lévis

– rue Poncelet

– rue Bayen

18th arrondissement

– Barbès market

– Lariboisière market

– Ornano market

– boulevard de la Chapelle (between Tombouctou and boulevard Barbès)

– rue des Islettes

– rue de la Goutte d'or

– rue des Poissonniers

– rue Dejean

– rue de Suez

– rue de Panama

– Dejean market (between the streets of Poulet, Poissonniers and Dejean)

– Porte Montmartre market 

– Ordener market

– rue de Steinkerque

– avenue de Saint-Ouen

– boulevard de Clichy

– boulevard du Rochechouart

– Poteau market (Rue Duhesme – between Ordener and Poteau)

– Paris flea markets

– rue Riquet (between Marx Dormoy and Pajol)

– rue de l'Olive

– butte Montmartre (comprising Place du tertre, parvis et marche du Sacré-Coeur, rue Norvins, rue du Mont Cenis)

19th arrondissement

– quai de la Loire

– quai de Seine

– quai de Marne

– quai de l'Oise at the entrance to Parc de la Villette

– rue de Bellevillle

– Joinville market

– place des fêtes

– avenue Secrétan

– avenue Mathurin Moreau

– rue Manin

– avenue Jean Jaurès between rue de l'Ourcq and Porte de Pantin

20th arrondissement

– rue des Panoyaux

– rue Victor Letalle

– rue Sorbier (between rue Menilmontant eand rue Juillet)

– belvédère du Parc de Belleville

– boulevard de Belleville

– boulevard de Ménilmontant

– rue de Ménilmontant

– rue des Pyrénées

– rue de Bagnolet

– rue d'Avron

– Porte de Montreuil flea markets

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HEALTH

The different ways you can make a doctor’s appointment in France

Booking a medical appointment in France can be time-consuming – especially if you are new to the country and are looking for an English-speaking doctor.

The different ways you can make a doctor's appointment in France

You do not need a carte vitale to book a doctor’s appointment in France – anyone who needs medical help while in the country is entitled to it, but you may not be entitled to any reimbursement if you are not part of the social security system.

Booking a GP’s appointment can be as simple as phoning up your friendly neighbourhood GP, or using an online service such as Doctolib. 

It helps a lot, if you have a médecin traitant – an attending GP, who adds you (and your family, if they can) to their list of patients. 

READ ALSO Explained: How to register with a doctor in France

It is not always easy to find one. Some parts of the country are short of GPs, which means doctors’ lists can fill up very quickly. But it is important that anyone who lives in France is registered with a named GP, especially if they have a carte vitale.

As well as being the main point of contact between patients and the medical profession in all its guises, it is financially responsible to be registered with a GP in France.

Reimbursement on consultations is typically 70 percent through the French healthcare system, but just 30 percent for anyone without a declared doctor. Meanwhile, top-up mutuelle health insurance companies usually require you to declare a médecin traitant and if you don’t, you may not be able to receive reimbursements on certain treatments.

Bear in mind, it is your responsibility to register with a local médecin traitant. But, even after you have done so, you can still make an appointment with any doctor, anywhere in France, and arrange specialist treatment, if you need it. 

READ ALSO 5 things to know about visiting a doctor in France

How do you go about making a GP appointment in France?

There are several options.

Some health centres – more often in larger towns and cities – operate a walk-in policy. But expect waits to be lengthy. Do not, however, assume that your GP operates a system like this.

You can phone for an appointment. This is another very common method. Your GP will have their own system for making appointments – which may even include something that looks, to the uninitiated, very much like a casual walk-in policy. 

Some may have an assistant to deal with booking appointments and other administration. Others may deal with appointments themselves, and may – for example – operate some sort of triage system based on voice messages from patients. 

What about online booking systems?

And many practitioners are now attached to websites, such as Doctolib. As of 2023, about half of all GP appointments in France were made using Doctolib.

READ ALSO How to use: French medical website Doctolib

Be aware that other online booking systems are available. Doctolib is one of the best known, but your GP may be attached to another system, like the health ministry approved site ‘LeMedecin.Fr’.

This website also has a feature where you can take an immediate online consultation with whatever doctor is available at that moment. By clicking ‘Consultez en vidéo maintenant’ you will be connected to the next doctor who is free. This option may involve an additional charge between €5-10 on top of the price of the consultation, and you will be expected to pay when booking.

If you have any trouble with either of these websites, you can go through the list of registered generalists per département on the ‘Ameli’ website. If you use this option, you will need to call the doctor to see if they are open or available for appointments.

In terms of wait times, online systems have helped to significantly reduce the delay between booking and getting an appointment.

According to a 2023 study by Doctolib, about half of all GP appointments were available within three days from the time of booking on their platform.

Similarly, you can use online platforms to check the medical professional’s qualifications and languages spoken, as well as filter based on the doctor’s English abilities. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt because not every medical professional with English listed on their Doctolib page speaks fluent English. 

An increasing number of doctorsoffer video consultations, known as télémédecine in France. This allows professionals – particularly those in more rural areas – to diagnose less serious conditions remotely. This type of consultation is usually only available from those medical practices that are attached to online booking systems. 

Some pharmacies have also begun offering walk-in télémedicine consults, using ‘Medadom’ machines. More information here.

What about specialists?

In France, you book your own consultations with specialists, even if you are referred by a doctor (your GP may offer a recommendation, but won’t always). The good news is that many specialists do use online booking services. Those that do not usually have assistants to take care of the appointments.

READ ALSO: Urgent care: How to get non-emergency medical treatment in France

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