The deserted streets of Nice, in the south of France, are being patrolled by police drones warning people to stay indoors and observe the coronavirus lockdown.
The machines are whirring down Nice’s palm-fringed Promenade des Anglais barking out orders from a loudspeaker, warning citizens to remain at least one metre apart to prevent transmission of the deadly virus that has killed 372 people in France and infected at least 10,000.
France has told citizens to stay indoors except to buy food, go to work or seek medical help, as it fights a virtual explosion of coronavirus cases that threatens to grow rapidly.
France's Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, said: “The epidemic is large and spreading, spreading rapidly and intensely.” He