With elbow taps and fist bumps, French elections candidates defy coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: La Republique En Marche (LaREM) candidate for the upcoming Paris 2020 mayoral election Agnes Buzyn tours the 6th arrondissement with Gaspard Gantzer as part of their political campaign in Paris, France, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) - Elbow to elbow, foot to foot or the occasional Namaste is how some candidates in France's local elections are greeting voters across cities, but for others direct contact is too valuable to give up even as the highly contagious coronavirus runs amok.

Even after Italy went into lockdown and countries from Japan to Greece shut down schools, the French government has publicly said it wants to press ahead with the national vote for control of France's 35,000 town halls.