France’s Government announce fines for those failing to wear face masks on French public transport.

It comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Tuesday that people using public transport after May 11 would be required to wear a mask, and maintain social distancing rules for at least three weeks.

France’s junior transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said, on Friday, that “law enforcement” would be permitted to enforce these rules, as would transport operator security staff.

He said: “We will also legally authorise specialised staff at SNCF and RATP… to perform these checks. And if not, they can issue fines. People who want to take a VTC [ride-sharing vehicle such as Uber], a taxi, or go into a station without wearing a mask may be refused access. If they still enter despite this, they will be fined.”

The €135 figure has been suggested as it is the same charge as for those who break confinement rules.

Mr Djebbari said that the idea was to make it “something similar to that given in case of leaving the house without an attestation form. Meaning €135. But this has not yet been confirmed,” he said.

He also said: “We will help users in the wearing of obligatory masks on public transport. We will do everything we can to ensure that everyone has a mask by May 11. And, just as for land travel, we will also require people to wear masks on planes.”