France will decide towards the end of May when bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said, as the government prepares to ease some of its coronavirus lockdown measures from May 11.

Bars and restaurants in France have been shut since March 14, three days before a wider stay-at-home order came into force to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

“Nothing would be worse than to make a hasty reopening which would then force us to close again. It would be a huge disappointment for the restaurant owners, a huge disappointment for French people as well,” Le Maire told reporters.