Paris (AFP)
More than 13,000 coronavirus deaths but a "very high plateau" which seems to be starting in the curve of the epidemic in France: the Easter weekend is spent under reinforced confinement in certain regions, and awaiting the speech by Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
"This is not the time to lower the guard because confinement remains the means to decrease the epidemic," said the French president during a meeting on Friday with employers and union officials.
The continuation of the containment started on March 17 is "essential", insisted the general director of Health, Jérôme Salomon who specifies to have noted "a very slight slowdown of the epidemic". The initial opinion of the Scientific Council, which advises Emmanuel Macron, was for confinement of "at least six weeks".
According to Jérôme Salomon, "a very high plateau seems to be starting, with an epidemic still very dynamic, always very heterogeneous according to the regions".
"Above all, in the coming month, we must continue this effort with the same intensity, because it will not have to restart", also warned Arnaud Fontanet, epidemiologist at the Pasteur Institute and member of the scientific council Covid-19, on RMC.
In this Easter weekend, the beginning of the holidays for some, prefects have tightened confinement, while the death toll now exceeds 13,000 dead in France even if, "pale ray of sunshine" according to Professor Salomon, the number of people in resuscitation decreases slightly for the second consecutive day: 7,004 people currently require heavy care, or 62 less in 24 hours.
In Ile-de-France, a "child under 10 years old" who was in intensive care has died, "but the causes of death seem multiple, even if there was a Covid-19 infection diagnosed," according to Jérôme Salomon . It is the first death of a child so young reported in France.
As the previous weekend, some 160,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized to control and avoid departures, according to the Interior Minister.
In the Bouches-du-Rhône, where the holidays begin, containment controls will be reinforced on the coast, on the motorway and in the massifs.
In Corsica, "only one adult per family" will be able to shop for an hour a day, in addition to reinforced controls on beaches and places to walk.
In Nice, nine of the poorest districts are subject to a curfew from 8 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., the town hall claiming a "non-compliance with the rules".
In Paris, Alsace or Saint-Etienne, individual sports are more strictly supervised, while group outings are prohibited in Ardèche.
- Clear message -
How to prepare for resumption of activity without releasing the fight against the coronavirus? Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe consult social partners and political forces before the presidential speech on Monday, at the highly anticipated announcements a month after the start of the confinement.
In the political field, right and left demand that Emmanuel Macron send a "clear" and "concrete" message on Monday, in particular on the issues that are debating: wearing a mask, tests, treatments, digital tracing, conditions for deconfinement or border control ...
One thing is already certain: the "stay at home" will be reaffirmed by the Head of State when he addresses television, at 8:02 p.m., for the fourth time since the start of the health crisis.
Emmanuel Macron should specify the duration of the further extension of the containment and could give initial indications on the next step, that of the deconfinement and the exit from the emergency situation.
As part of the consultations on the epidemic, Emmanuel Macron and Edouard Philippe continued discussions on Friday, at European and French level.
They notably discussed at the end of the morning by audio conference with the heads of employers and unions, for the second time in 15 days after a first meeting on March 26.
Emmanuel Macron also participated in a videoconference meeting with heads of state and government and European commissioners linked to the Renew Europe group, of which La République en Marche is a member of the European Parliament.
This meeting took place a few hours after the agreement reached between the European finance ministers on a common economic response. The Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire welcomed a recovery plan including "500 billion euros available immediately".
© 2020 AFP