Lockdown restrictions ease in France from Monday, with some buisinesses, factories and schools allowed to reopen.
Some hairdressers didn't waste any time, opening seconds after midnight.
Julian Satterthwaite reports.
Midnight haircuts: France wastes no time getting back to work
France’s lockdown eased on Monday (May 11), allowing selected businesses back to work.
Hairdressers didn’t waste any time, with some opening seconds after midnight.
Their customers just could not wait: "I was here at 12:01 a.m.
To honour the effort of my hairdresser, and also I really needed to come.
It's great to have this opportunity.” The relief comes after eight weeks of strict lockdown eases.
France making the move after a prolonged fall in the daily death toll.
Once dawn rose, it wasn’t just hairdressers working again.
The Champs Elysee in Paris was busy with traffic.
Shops, factories and some schools all allowed to reopen.
People are now permitted to leave home without government permission.
It’s a cautious return though.
Business will have to practice social distancing and take strict measures to protect staff.
Some places, including Paris, remain ‘red zones’ subject to extra restrictions.
But President Emmanuel Macron is desperate to get France working again.
The euro zone’s second biggest economy is in freefall, forecast to shrink 8% this year.
His approval ratings have tumbled as voters note how Germany seems to have coped better.
Macron may hope that some good haircuts will help lift the national mood.