The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, announced this Thursday the extension of the curfew currently in force in nine cities, including Paris, to all the departments where these metropolises are located, as well as an additional 38, in addition to the overseas region of Polynesia.
In this way, 54 apartments, where 46 million French people live, will be prohibited from leaving home between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The measure will take effect at midnight from Friday to Saturday and will last for at least six weeks.
Castex has indicated that it is still too early to assess the impact of the curfew that has been in force for a few days in Paris, Marseille and other large cities.
An assessment will be made next week, but the prime minister has warned that the measures could be "toughened" further.
"The situation is serious in Europe and it is serious in France," said a sober Castex.
And the situation "continues to deteriorate," he added.
At his side, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, has confirmed the worst forecasts.
“The figures are doubling every 15 days despite the efforts.
Without new measures, in 15 days we would have more than 50,000 cases a day ”.
The day before, France again exceeded 26,000 confirmed cases in 24 hours.
“I say it very clearly.
The coming weeks will be tough, our hospitals will be put to the test and the death toll will continue to rise.
November is going to be complicated ”, has warned Castex.
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