Scenes from the Paris metro, as France lifts its coronavirus lockdown

France on Monday began its “deconfinement,” relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions after two months of a nationwide lockdown. Elementary school students returned to school and nonessential businesses were allowed to reopen. But while commuters crowded onto the Paris metro during rush hour and lines formed outside hair salons, for most of the day, there was still an inescapable feeling of emptiness in the normally bustling French capital.

Despite the anticipation that had been building for weeks, the crowds did not spill out onto the streets. France’s lockdown is being lifted gradually, region by region, depending on the prevalence of the virus. In Paris, because of a high concentration of confirmed cases, parks remained closed.

Some people ventured out to the banks of the newly reopened river quays, and clusters of customers browsed outdoor bookshop displays.

People kept their distance to enter indoor shops, which can now require customers to wear masks. Most of the businesses that opened, however, remained largely empty. There was no rush to buy new clothes.

The Paris metro system, currently operating at about 70 percent capacity, had plenty of social distancing guidance to offer, such as blocked-out seats to preserve space between passengers. But peak commuter periods saw standing-room-only trains on certain lines.

The crowds — on the trains, but also on the platforms outside them — called into question the efficacy of those social distancing measures.

The French government has said it would restore the lockdown if virus transmission increases significantly. “If the virus were to resume its wild race, we would again take lockdown measures,” Health Minister Olivier Véran told BFM TV on Monday.