The government is faced with a difficult situation.
The peak of the fifth wave has not yet passed, the threat of the Omicron variant is heavy, and the French are preparing to meet and spend time together as part of the holiday season.
At the end of a Health Defense Council on Friday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castex took care to call on the French to be extremely vigilant during this necessarily sensitive period from an epidemic point of view.
Read alsoFollow the latest information on the health crisis in our direct
"After 20 months of living with the virus, the French know how to protect themselves from it," he said from Matignon.
In addition to “strict compliance” with barrier gestures, Jean Castex also issued a “simple recommendation”: “The fewer there are, the less risk we take”.
"Let us avoid the big parties, the big gatherings", insisted the Prime Minister.
Get tested before the holidays
Last year, when France was under a curfew, the government exceptionally allowed the French to travel between different regions to join their loved ones for the holidays.
Without being able to impose it, he had also recommended not to gather more than six per table.
The regime was then much more flexible than in most of our European neighbors.
On the other hand, the executive had not granted any exception for the night of New Year's Eve.
Jean Castex also called to be tested before the holidays, as scientists repeat.
But he did not indicate anything about a possible free self-tests for the vaccinated, as mentioned by several media this Friday.
On the other hand, he announced that the town halls must give up the New Year's festivities.
The epidemic continues to circulate very actively in the country.
The incidence rate reached the level of 520, a record since the start of the epidemic.
The number of new admissions to the hospital, all services combined, continued to increase and exceeded 1,200.