Do police check how often we shop?
I have heard that gendarmes have been taking people’s names and car registration numbers in supermarket car parks and saying they will get a warning if they see the same cars there more than once a week. I live in the Lot but have heard this has happened in other departments too. Does this mean we can only go shopping once a week?
We contacted the Covid-19 Operational Centre for the Lot who said it has no instructions from central government to say that you are only authorised to go shopping once a week.
However, it stresses that people should only go when absolutely necessary and that a once a week shop is a good solution to reduce the number of people in shops and thus limit contact with other people.
This is to protect the shop workers and other shoppers as well as yourself who may be a carrier even if you do not show any virus symptoms.
The Lot prefecture told Connexion it had given no orders to gendarmes to take people’s names and registration numbers in supermarket car parks and this was the first time they had heard of this.
The spokesperson said this could have been a hoax although the gendarmes mentioned did not ask for any money.
There have been reports of fake police and gendarmerie officers, who have been demanding illegal on-the-spot fines for alleged breaches of the Covid-19 confinement rules.
The law states that officers cannot demand the immediate on-the-spot payment of a fine except if the offender does not have a home address in France.
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