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As announced by the government, the deconfinement will be gradual and tinged with many restrictions. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and several of his ministers gave the details on Thursday afternoon, revealing in particular the much awaited map of the departments. France will be clearly cut in half on May 11, with four regions in the northeast and Mayotte classified in red.
The May 8 celebrations, which will take place today, will be disrupted by the rules of containment. According to the latest report from the authorities, the assessment of the pandemic is approaching 26,000 dead in the country. Follow the situation live.
Information to remember
- The government released details of the gradual deconfinement on Thursday
- Four regions of northeast and Mayotte are in red on the map of departments
- Emmanuel Macron will chair the May 8 celebrations, in a very limited format due to the pandemic
- Death toll near 26,000 in the country
A progressive deconfinement, four regions of the northeast and Mayotte in red
Edouard Philippe had already set the tone during the presentation of his deconfinement plan to the National Assembly, the point on Thursday afternoon confirmed it: the government opted for a progressive confinement, with always restrictions. The latter will be stronger in the red classified departments on the famous deconfinement map, presented on Thursday.
On May 11, the day of deconfinement, France will be clearly cut in half. The four regions of the northeast (Île-de-France, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) are thus classified in red, while the deconfinement is squarely carried over to Mayotte. In these regions, colleges, parks and gardens will not reopen. This places 32 departments in total and nearly 27 million inhabitants in a still very controlled confinement.
>> READ- Deconfinement: what to remember from the announcements of Edouard Philippe
Restrictions still in effect, especially for travel
More generally, the whole country will continue to live with restrictions, especially for travel. Among them: masks in public transport under penalty of 135 euros fine; attestations required from the employer for trips during rush hour in transport in Ile-de-France or the creation of a new attestation justifying a "compelling professional or family reason" (including bereavement and assistance to vulnerable people) for trips over 100 km from his home as the crow flies.
On the economic level, as of Monday, "400,000 companies representing 875,000 jobs will reopen," said Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, citing hair salons, clothing stores, florists, bookstores. Finally, a million students will be welcomed with 130,000 teachers as of next week.
>> READ - Deconfinement: what are the rules for moving from May 11?
Upset 8 May celebrations
This year, the traditional celebrations of May 8 (victory during the Second World War) will be upset by the pandemic. Emmanuel Macron will preside over the ceremony on Friday in a very limited format, in the presence of the main political and military leaders but without an audience due to the coronavirus crisis, said the Elysee.
While this year marks the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism, it is the first time that the traditional Arc de Triomphe ceremony will take place in this way, without the traditional ascent of the Champs Elysées and review of the troops. Alongside the head of state, his predecessors Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande will be present, as well as a few political and military figures. Broadcast live on television, the ceremony should last 45 minutes and will start at 10:45 am.
>> PODCAST - Coronavirus: find all the answers to your questions here
Nearly 26,000 dead in the country
According to the last official report, published Thursday evening by the Directorate General of Health (DGS), the virus has caused 25,987 deaths since March 1, or 178 more in the last 24 hours, including 9,601 in medico-social establishments and the Ehpad (+29). The pressure on resuscitation services continues to ease, with 186 Covid-19 patients less: the total thus falls for the first time below 3,000 patients in these services (at 2,961).
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Over 267,000 deaths worldwide
The new coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 266,919 people worldwide since its onset in December in China. This number of diagnosed cases, however, only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, with a large number of countries testing only cases requiring hospital care.
The United States, which recorded its first death linked to the coronavirus in early February, is the country most affected in terms of number of deaths and cases, with 74,844 deaths for 1,244,119 cases. After the United States, the most affected countries are the United Kingdom with 30,615 deaths for 206,715 cases, Italy with 29,958 deaths (215,858 cases), Spain with 26,070 deaths (221,447 cases), and France with 25,987 dead (174,791 cases).