The French government has promised to support the nation's beloved independent shops that fear losing their business to international giants, such as Amazon.com Inc, as it sought to quell opposition to a new coronavirus lockdown.

But officials also ruled out making exceptions for booksellers or other small stores upset about the lockdown, hitting back at sporadic resistance to the restrictions on non-essential shops as some tried to remain open.

“We are taking these measures to protect the French people,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said in an interview with TV channel TF1.

Instead, the government will now stop supermarkets from selling non-essential goods like flowers to level the playing field for florists, toy shops and independent booksellers that have to close, Castex said.