Tour de France could limit number of spectators after new government guidelines announced

French prime minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that following the end of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in early May, major sporting and cultural events of more than 5,000 participants cannot be held

Tuesday 28 April 2020 12:09 EDT
Comments
Coronavirus: How has sport been affected?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Tour de France may have to make arrangements for limiting the number of spectators in order to comply with a ban on major events gathering more than 5,000 people before September.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that following the end of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown on May 11, major sporting and cultural events bringing together more than 5,000 participants cannot be held before September.

Philippe did not specifically mention the Tour de France, which has been postponed to Aug 29-Sept 20 from its original June 27 start date.

“It is too early to say (how this will impact the Tour) but for now this does not imply a postponement nor a cancellation, but it does not rule out arrangements notably in terms of number of spectators,” a sports ministry spokeswoman said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in