Anxious France Votes in Local Polls as Coronavirus Closes Cafes, Schools

France voted in municipal elections Sunday that risk a low turnout as the mounting coronavirus infection toll saw the government indefinitely close cafes, restaurants and schools.

Anti-infection precautions were in place at the country’s 35,000-odd voting stations, with bottles of hand sanitizer at the entrance, a personal distance of about one meter (3.3 feet) marked with tape on the floor, and booths positioned in such a way that voters can avoid touching the privacy curtain.

Several voters turned out sporting surgical masks and clutched their own bottles of sanitizing gel in one of the countries hardest-hit by the virus that has infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed over 5,700.

France has had some 4,500 infections and 91 deaths.

Source: AFP