Paris has given café owners a longer lease on the sidewalk and street areas they’ve been allowed to extend into since the pandemic lockdown was lifted. The permits were originally set to expire at the end of summer; they will now extend to next June 30th.
The extension was part of the city’s strategy to allow them to serve more customers while maintaining social distancing; it also provides the cafés more opportunity to recoup financial losses from the lockdown. While some indoor space is now permitted, most customers appear to feel more comfortable outdoors in spaces created from parking and more sidewalk.
About 8,000 cafés received permits for the extensions, which are not permanent, and require that the extended area be pulled back by 10 pm. It’s one of a number of measures implemented, including opening more bicycle-only spaces to make it easier to avoid crowding transit. A number of streets have been changed to pedestrian and cycle only, including Rue du Rivoli, a main shopping street.
