Emmanuel Macron at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 3, 2020. - Francois Mori / AP / SIPA

France was not informed until December 31 of the appearance of the Covid-19 virus in China, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The Quai d'Orsay denies that the French ambassador to Beijing himself alerted President Emmanuel Macron upstream.

According to the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné  published on Wednesday, the Quai d'Orsay and the Elysée received "in December" information "alarming of which they disregarded". "The French ambassador in Beijing, Laurent Bili, had just warned (the minister) Jean-Yves Le Drian and Emmanuel Macron that a dangerous virus was reported in Wuhan", continues Le Canard .

Macron not directly captured

The information is reported to the Quai d'Orsay via the French consul in Wuhan and in no case has the president been directly seized, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "As soon as the authorities in Wuhan announced the new pneumonia on December 31, 2019, the consul general in Wuhan alerted the same day the Ministry's Crisis and Support Center and the embassy" in Beijing, said the Quai.

"Several updates to the Travel Advice sheet will then be carried out from the beginning of January", on the basis of information sent by the consulate in Wuhan, adds the Foreign Ministry.

Repatriation operations from the end of January

Chinese authorities reported on January 5 that 59 people had been infected, including seven in serious condition, the Quai said, noting that the results were far from alarming. The embassy, ​​the consulate and the ministry in Paris then had regular exchanges on the evolution of the health situation in Wuhan, one continues.

On January 23, China reported 614 cases of contamination, including 17 deaths, and announced the placing of Wuhan under quarantine, notes the Quai. "With the general confinement of the city of Wuhan on January 23, 2020, the return operations of French nationals and their dependents are organized and put in place very quickly, from January 30," the ministry said. Over 300 people were then repatriated to France on various flights and placed in a fortnight in holiday centers in France.

Sport

Coronavirus: Contaminated military athletes in Wuhan in late October? The ministry of the armies denies

Justice

Coronavirus: Can a country file a complaint against China or demand "redress" because of the epidemic?

  • Video
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • epidemic
  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus
  • Society