Beating lockdown inertia: French city-dwellers keep fit on balconies

Residents exercise on their balconies following fitness trainers in Nantes as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread in France, March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

NANTES, France (Reuters) - As dusk fell over Nantes in western France, dozens of residents of an apartment block came out onto their balconies for a half-hour fitness session to beat the inertia of life under lockdown while the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

Music pumped out as the group put itself through a routine of star jumps, squats and jogging on the spot. The workout caught on after Pierre Planchenaud began exercising alone. Before long, his neighbours wanted to join in.