French riot police to enforce mask order

French riot police are being sent across Marseille to enforce COVID-19 pandemic mask requirement measures.

A government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said 130 officers would be deployed to the region after it expanded outdoor mask requirements for farmers markets and other boroughs on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

The riot police were sent as France has reported some instances of violence by those who refuse to wear masks. Last month a man in Paris was severely beaten after requesting a fellow patron in a laundromat to wear a mask.

Paris also issued further mask requirements Saturday, while other smaller towns across the country began imposing requirements on Monday.

The move comes as France reported a record number of new cases Sunday with 3,015 infections. It marks the highest spike in daily cases since the country’s two month lockdown lifted in May.

Across other countries in Europe, anti-mask sentiments have ramped up as demonstrators took the streets in Madrid and Brussels over the weekend to protest forced requirements to wear one, Euro News reported. 

Thousands gathered in Berlin at the start of the month to demonstrate against forced face-covering requirements, claiming the mandates are against civil rights.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, France has confirmed a total of 256,533 cases since the pandemic began and 30,434 fatalities.