Paris mayor wants to reopen parks, health minister says ‘no’

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday that parks and gardens would remain closed in Paris and the greater Paris region to limit the risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

France is gradually easing a nationwide lockdown, and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo asked on Twitter for the re-opening of the French capital’s parks, closed since March 17, provided people wear face masks.

Veran was speaking after crowds of Parisians gathered on the banks of the trendy Saint-Martin canal and the Seine river on Monday to celebrate the easing of the lockdown. Police had to disperse the crowds and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner later asked the Paris prefecture to ban drinking on the Canal Saint-Martin and the Seine river banks, Reuters said.

The government has split France into “green zones” where the infection rate is low and “red zones,” including the greater Paris region, where the rate is higher and more restrictions are in place.