France faces "the most serious health known in France for a century". To combat the spread of the new coronavirus, Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday several measures of unprecedented scale.
There is no question of canceling the first round of municipal elections scheduled for this weekend, but the daily life of the French will be drastically turned upside down from Friday.
All schools closed on Monday
Faced with this pandemic which "is accelerating and intensifying", the State has first chosen to close the crèches, schools, colleges, high schools and universities from Monday throughout the territory. Until further notice.
"Telework" and compensation for employees
Consequently, remote working of the active population "must be intensified to the maximum". A measure that is particularly aimed at parents.
Emmanuel Macron also promised to "take charge of the compensation of employees forced to stay at home". The payment of employer charges will also be postponed.
Public transport is maintained, as in Italy. Slow down the epidemic, but do not completely paralyze the lives of the French.
Elderly people invited to confine themselves
The “most vulnerable” are called to stay at home. People over the age of 70 and those with chronic or respiratory illnesses are encouraged to "stay in their homes as much as possible and limit their contact as much as possible". However, it is not forbidden to "do your shopping", he said.
Faced with this new situation and the risk of isolation, the president advised the French to call and write to their relatives.
Postponed non-emergency operations
Emmanuel Macron also recalled wanting to "massively increase the reception capacity at the hospital". As a result, non-emergency operations are postponed, as announced earlier today.
In this regard, Emmanuel Macron assured "to prepare for a possible second wave (of contamination) of younger people".
A vaccine "in the coming months"?
The head of state hopes that French and European research will be able to find "treatments in the coming weeks" and "a vaccine in several months".
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In the meantime, he calls for a sense of the responsibilities of fellow citizens. "Barrier gestures are still too little respected," he regretted. Washing your hands, respecting the distance of a meter, can "seem harmless to you, but these gestures save lives".
Winter truce extended by two months
To protect the most vulnerable, Emmanuel Macron also wanted to extend the winter break by two months, until the end of May.
Coronavirus: Lagarde evokes a “significant impact” on the economy
Since the appearance of the new coronavirus in December in China, nearly 125,000 cases of infection have been recorded in 113 countries and territories, and 4,566 people have died. In the wake of other financial centers in the world, the Paris Stock Exchange experienced the biggest fall in its history on Thursday.
This Thursday evening, the French health authorities counted 2876 infected people and 61 deaths.