France has carefully lifted one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdown on Monday to revive its economy.
Although the government is wary of the second wave of infections, shops, factories and some schools have reopened.
The country has over 139,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 56,217 recoveries and 26,380 deaths. Currently, it holds the world’s fifth-highest official death toll.
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Workers are allowed to return to workplaces with social distancing measures while schools are re-opening in phases.
The country’s 67 million people can now leave home without government paperwork.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government had enforced an eight-week lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Only food stores, pharmacies and tobacconists were allowed to stay open.
Macron lifted the lockdown after the rate of infection slowed and the number of patients in intensive care fell to less than half the peak seen in April.
