But one man decided to break quarantine and try to cross the border into Spain in search of cheap cigarettes.
It didn’t end well — he got lost and had to be rescued by the French mountain rescue service, a spokesman for the service told CNN.
He was “exhausted, shivering and lost” when he was picked up by a rescue helicopter on Saturday, according to a Facebook post from the rescue service, which is a unit of the police.
The man, who hasn’t been named, initially set off from the city of Perpignan by car but found his way blocked by police checkpoints. So he attempted to cross the border to La Jonquera on foot.
However, he got lost on the mountain slopes, fell into a stream and some brambles, and ended up calling for help.
Rescuers quickly located the man, evacuating him by helicopter and taking him to Perpignan, where he was given a €135 ($146) fine for breaking quarantine rules.
“We remind you once again: stay at home,” the rescue service wrote.
Governments around the world are punishing people who contravene public health measures designed to prevent the spread of the virus.
In Hawaii, anyone traveling between the state’s islands must quarantine themselves for two weeks, and breaking that quarantine order to gulp some fresh air could earn you up to $5,000 in fines or a year in prison, if convicted.
In China, a Chinese-Australian woman was fired from her job and ordered to leave the country after provoking outrage for breaking quarantine rules to go for a jog.
