French families visit loved-ones’ graves on All Saints’ Day

world
French Families Visit Loved-Ones’ Graves On All Saints’ Day
France All Saints Day, © AP/Press Association Images
Share this article

By Associated Press Reporter

French families took advantage on Sunday of an exception to national virus lockdown measures to gather at cemeteries to mark All Saints’ Day and honour lost loved ones.

France’s government has shut down all non-essential businesses and ordered people to stay indoors for the next month to slow accelerating virus infections, hospital admissions and deaths.

Advertisement

But cemeteries stayed open and church services were allowed for the All Saints’ holiday weekend.

Parisian Alice Crespel, who took her children to the cemetery in the historic Montmartre neighbourhood, said: “It is very important to be with the kids and have them join their grandmother in a family reunion without taking risks.”


Catholic worshippers attend the All Saints Day mass in Saint-Sulpice church, in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)
Catholic worshippers attend the All Saints Day mass in Saint-Sulpice church, in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)

Advertisement

The main exception to this lockdown is schools, which are allowed to stay open to reduce learning gaps and allow their parents to keep working.

While the lockdown is currently scheduled to end on December 1, health minister Olivier Veran warned that Christmas “will not be a normal holiday” this year and cautioned against planning big New Year’s parties.

France reported 223 new virus-related deaths on Saturday, for a total of 36,788, the world’s seventh-highest reported death toll.

Covid patients now occupy 68% of France’s intensive care units, a proportion that has doubled in two weeks.

Advertisement

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com