Restaurateurs Set Up Bar in Paris Metro Station to Protest COVID-19 Closures

Restaurateurs set up a bar in a Paris Metro station to protest the 15-day closure of hospitality venues as the city’s COVID-19 alert was raised to maximum. Bars were closed as of October 6, according to reports.

Approximately 15 owners of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs from the collective Restons Ouverts (Let’s Stay Open) took to the platform of the Assemblée Nationale Metro station to set up the miniature bar with cocktails, folding chairs, and a DJ on October 6. This clip shows them playing music and shouting, “Freedom for the bistros.”

The restrictions were put in place in Paris and its inner suburbs in order to try to curb the spread of COVID-19. Gyms will also be closed, but venues such as theaters, cinemas, and museums be allowed will remain open.

The move follows in the footsteps of Marseille, which closed bars and restaurants on September 26.

In Paris, restaurants were permitted to open if they followed rules such as taking contact details of patrons and shutting down by 10 pm. Credit: Nicolas Mercier via Storyful