Restaurant Owners Protest in Paris Over Fears of COVID-19 Shutdown

French restaurants workers, wearing black armbands and hitting pots, protest in front of their restaurant La Ville de Provins in Paris as part of a day of actions to urge French authorities to avoid closures or restrictions to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, on Oct. 2, 2020. Thierry Chiarello/Reuters

PARIS—Restaurateurs and their staff on Friday stood in front of their restaurants in Paris wearing black arm-bands and banging pots and pans, urging the French government not to order tighter restrictions to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday the Paris region was set to be placed on maximum COVID-19 alert from as soon as Monday as cases rise.