Europe awakes from COVID-19 restrictions, embraces new-found freedom

"Our much-admired Viennese gastronomy scene comprises 6,500 businesses, which in turn secures around 60,000 jobs and ensures sales of 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion)," Mayor Michael Ludwig said, adding that "the voucher campaign shows that we are fighting for every business and every job."

To avoid an avalanche of bankruptcies and layoffs, the French government announced a 20-billion-dollar recovery plan to support tourism stakeholders in May.

After entering the second phase of reopening, France has become the first European country to launch a mobile app called "StopCovid" for digital tracing, which uses bluetooth to detect the proximity of users, as part of preventive measures against possible rebounds of the virus.