French president Emmanuel Macron
France has been in a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic with an average of 20,000 new infection cases per day…Reports Asian Lite News
President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be implemented in the greater Paris region and eight other big cities in France.
The curfew starts from Friday midnight, and will last for at least four weeks to stem the spread of coronavirus,
“A curfew will apply to the Ile-de-France region…and eight metropolitan areas — Grenoble, Lille, Rouen, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse, Montpellier and Rouen,” Macron said in a televised interview, Xinhua news agency reported.
France has been in a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic with an average of 20,000 new infection cases per day. “We have now entered a phase to which we must react… The virus is everywhere in France,” Macron added.
Paris, Sept. 4, 2020 (Xinhua) — People wearing masks walk on the Trocadero Place near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Sept. 3, 2020. The French government aims to mobilize 100 billion euros (118 billion U.S. dollars) in a recovery plan “of historic size” to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic crisis, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday. Ecological transition, competitiveness and social cohesion were identified as the three pillars of the plan dubbed “France Relaunch,” which Castex said was “the most massive announced to date among major European countries.” (Xinhua/Gao Jing/IANS)
The situation is worrying and the curfew is a “pertinent” measure while having the whole country locked down again would be “disproportionate”, he explained.
“We have not lost control. We are in a situation which is worrying and which justifies that we are neither inactive nor in panic. We have learned from the first wave,” Macron said.
The curfew does not ban driving between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., but travel will be strictly limited unless with good reasons.
“We must continue to be able to go to work in all sectors,” said Macron. “For those who have emergencies, health for example, there will be authorisations.”
Prime Minister Jean Castex will address a press conference on Thursday to unveil details of these measures, Macron added.