Notre-Dame to hold small Good Friday service amid France's coronavirus lockdown

Deaths in France from the virus have risen to over 10,000

A view of the north side of the Notre-Dame Cathedral six months after a fire ravaged the roof of the most visited monument in Paris. EPA

Notre-Dame Cathedral is to hold a short service on Good Friday almost a year after it was devastated by fire.

Attendance will be limited with just a small congregation of worshippers due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in France.

France has been forced to impose stricter lockdown measures as the death toll from the virus reached 10,328 on Tuesday with 1,417 dying overnight.

On Wednesday jogging in Paris was banned.

As a result, only seven people will attend the televised meditation ceremony at Notre-Dame on Friday, when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus Christ.

"Only a few priests will attend the masses that we will celebrate during the Holy Week and people will be able to follow services on radio or on television," Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit said told a video news conference.

The service will include a wreath rescued after the fire at Notre-Dame.

There will be no Easter Saturday processions this year because of the lockdown, which limits the size of public gatherings.

On Easter Sunday, when Christians celebrate Christ's resurrection, Archbishop Aupetit will hold a mass in Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois church near the Louvre museum in the heart of Paris, with about 20 people attending.

Last year, hundreds of Parisians gathered for Easter Sunday mass at Saint-Eustache church in central Paris and prayed for the swift restoration of Notre-Dame after the fire that ripped through it days earlier, on April 15.

The fire destroyed the mediaeval cathedral's roof, toppled the spire and almost brought down the main bell towers and outer walls before firefighters brought it under control.

President Emmanuel Macron has set a target of five years for restoring Notre-Dame, one of Europe's main landmarks.

In Italy, Pope Francis will be live streaming Easter morning mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome alone.