From Saturday, October 17th, nine zones of France are operating a 9pm to 6am curfew in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19. The curfew zones are; the whole of the greater Paris Île-de-France region and the metropoles (cities and surrounding urban areas) of Montpellier, Lille, Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse, Saint-Etienne, Aix-Marseille and Rouen.   

From October 23rd this extends to a further 38 départements – find the full list here.

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In those areas everyone must be home by 9pm and not venture out again until 6am.

People are allowed out only for the following reasons;

• For work or travelling to or from work
• For health reasons
• Urgent family reasons such as offering help to someone in need or childcare
• Being summoned by judicial authorities or at the request of local authorities
• Transport (for example trains or planes, you will need to show a ticket as a reason to break curfew)
• Walking the dog within the vicinity of the home

Anyone who is out needs to have an attestation de déplacement permission form.

The form, similar to the permission form required to leave the home during lockdown, must be filled in with your details, signed, timed and dated and the relevant exemption category ticked.

It is available to download HERE and there is also a smartphone version (select version numérique). For people who don't have either a printer or a smartphone a handwritten copy of the form will be accepted. It is also available in English.

People who are out for work-related reasons need, in addition to the attestation de déplacement, a justificatif de déplacement professionnel in which you list your workplace, employer's name and nature of your work. That is available HERE.

Victims of domestic violence can also leave their homes if they don't feel safe, clarified Alexandra Cordebard, mayor of the 10th arrondissement of Paris. There is also a hotline – 3919 – that people can call for help, in addition to the police emergency number 17.

The penalty for being out at night without a form, or for a reason that does not fit one of the exemptions, is €135. Repeat offenders face a maximum penalty of €3,750 or six months in jail.

The curfew runs for six weeks.

It comes as France sees rising numbers of cases, especially in the cities, and hospitals begin to issue warnings about intense pressure on intensive care units.

The health minister on Thursday revealed that one patient every six minutes is admitted to intensive care in France.