In the spotlight: the Covid with the fear of variants ...

Audio 04:26

The 100,000 death mark in France due to Covid should soon be reached.

© Michel Euler / AP

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

9 mins

Publicity

“ 

The threshold of three million deaths reached in the world, that of one million exceeded in Europe, and that of 100,000 soon to be crossed in France: the figures strike everyone's mind

, exclaims

Sud-Ouest

.

And they prove the strength of the new epidemic wave, confirming that the global battle, despite occasional successes, is far from won.

The rise of vaccination campaigns has rekindled hope in developed countries.

But,

tempers

South-West, the gloomy general picture justifies the concern of the WHO.

And France's decision to suspend flights from Brazil focuses attention on a country where a dreaded variant of the virus is rife.

 "

“ 

Redoubtable 

”: this is the word also used by

La Charente Libre

to describe this Brazilian variant.

“ 

Not only does it send a younger Brazilian population to intensive care where half of the patients are under 40 years old.

But as a bonus, most vaccines seem to be ineffective.

The fact remains that it is still possible to avoid the domination of the Brazilian variant in the coming weeks,

estimates the Charente daily

.

On the condition of not being satisfied again with half-measures which are difficult to read and too light at the borders, but rather with real fortnights imposed on travelers as other countries do.

 "

After the Brazilian variant, the Indian variant?

Other nasty variant, one who strikes India since the past few days ... This is what finds

Liberation 

: "

India is facing a second wave of extremely violent contamination Covid-19, the country recorded more than 160

000 cases and 900 deaths in twenty-four hours, almost twice as many infections as at the peak of the first wave in early September.

And the spread is dazzling: the number of reported cases has doubled in just ten days, five times faster than then.

 "

And

Liberation

wondered: "

Which variant is responsible for this outbreak?"

 So far, Indian scientists have not yet formally identified it.

“ 

What is certain is that it is extremely contagious and causes new symptoms.

 "

Precisely, controlling the mutations of the virus is essential to overcome the pandemic, points

Le Figaro

.

“ 

New variants could emerge in the coming months and further complicate the picture

, the newspaper warns.

The variants are a natural evolution of viruses, but let's not forget that the more the virus circulates, the more it replicates, the more it mutates

," says Philippe Amouyel, professor of public health at the University Hospital of Lille, questioned by the newspaper.

Reducing the circulation of the virus is therefore necessary to reduce the risk of the appearance of new variants

 (…).

For the specialist

,

Le Figaro

also reports

, the prospect of the start of the crisis in mid-May, put forward by Emmanuel Macron in his last speech, seems very early given the restrictive measures currently underway. 

"

Justice reform: contested measures

Also on the front page, the justice reform, a bill presented this Wednesday by the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti ...

A project which " 

should in particular allow cameras in courtrooms, which is not unanimous among lawyers and magistrates

 ", points

Le Parisien

.

Another contested measure in this reform of justice: the abolition of assize courts to judge crimes punishable by 15 to 20 years in prison, thus depriving justice of the verdicts of popular jurors.

The criminal lawyer Frank Bertin, questioned by

Liberation

, said his “ 

amazement 

” and his “ 

despair 

”;

for him, “ 

this decision risks creating a justice that tramples on its own values.

 "

PSG qualified in suffering

Finally, football: PSG qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League after its narrow defeat last night, 1 to 0, against Bayern Munich.

“ 

The cry of the heart,

 ” exclaims

L'Équipe

.

“ 

Paris suffered, trembled, but deserved its qualification.

 "

Indeed, points out the sports daily, the suffering of the Parisians was “

 relative anyway, insofar as the Bavarian waves, which washed up on the always impeccable Navas, became less and less powerful.

As if Bayern understood over time that they would not defend their title in Istanbul on May 29.

As if the time for a handover had come.

 "

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