Prime Minister Jean Castex asked local authorities to “extend as far as possible the obligation to wear a mask in the public space,” in a bid to halt the quickening spread of the coronavirus across France.
This week, Toulouse and Nice became the first two cities to declare masks compulsory in all outdoor areas of their cities, but hundreds of places now have rules making masks compulsory in certain areas.
In Toulouse, the rule will enter into effect on Friday, August 21st, from 7am to 3am, for all people aged 12 and over, including those on bikes and scooters.
Around 400 communes have so far brought in rules on masks in outdoor spaces, extending the nationwide law that requires everyone to wear face masks on public transport and indoor public places, on pain of a €135 fine.
Several départements including Finistère and Côte d'Amor in Brittany and Haut-Savoie in the French Alps have made masks compulsory in all towns, while other large cities including Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux and Nantes have made masks compulsory in certain areas.
Paris and four of its surrounding départements – Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-d'Oise – have made wearing a mask compulsory in certain areas. For full details of the rules in Paris, click here.
The government has not made any national rules on mask-wearing outside, but Health Minister Olivier Véran has urged the French to wear masks in any open-air areas where keeping a 1 metre distance is difficult.
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The blue towns have introduced rules on wearing masks on the street. Mostly these rules are limited to certain areas in the the town centre or those that are likely to be crowded, such as historic walled towns. However a series of larger cities like Lyon and Paris have expanded previous rules to larger areas while Nice and Toulouse have made them compulsory in all areas.
Local authorities in the northwestern Finistère département have made it compulsory to wear masks in the outdoor markets of 31 communes including the port city of Brest.
In neighbour Brittany's Côtes-d'Armor département, mask-wearing in outdoor markets was mandatory in nearly 70 communes including the picturesque tourist town Dinan.
In Haute-Savoie, east of France on the Swiss border, local authorities made masks compulsory in all of the 280 towns in the département, but only in all markets and social gatherings numbering more than 10 people.
If you're visiting a tourist attraction you may find that this also has a mask rule, even if it is outdoors.
NOTE: This map is no longer being updated but many towns are bringing in their own rules on mask wearing. If you are travelling, check with local authorities in your area.
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