Paris (AFP)

From the prolonged confinement until May 11 to the "gradual" reopening of schools from that date, but not cafes or restaurants: here are the main points of Emmanuel Macron's speech on Monday.

Containment until May 11

To fight the pandemic, "the strictest containment must still continue until Monday, May 11," announced the French president. And not to exceed this deadline will "only be possible if we continue to be civic, responsible, to respect the rules and if the spread of the virus has actually continued to slow down," he warned.

During this phase of confinement, Emmanuel Macron "hopes" however "that hospitals and retirement homes can allow to organize for the closest with the right protections the visit to the sick at the end of life so that they can say goodbye".

"Gradual" reopening of schools, not cafes

From May 11, nurseries, schools, colleges and high schools will reopen "gradually", continued the head of state, stressing that "too many children", especially in "working-class neighborhoods" or "countryside" are currently "deprived of school" due to lack of access to digital.

In higher education, courses will not resume "physically before the summer" however.

"On May 11 it will also be a matter of allowing as many people as possible to return to work", with rules to "protect employees".

"Places bringing together the public, restaurants, cafes and hotels, cinemas, theaters, concert halls and museums will however remain closed at this stage" and "major festivals and events with a large audience cannot be held until at least in mid-July, "announced the head of state.

Tests and masks from May 11

On May 11, "we will be able to test anyone with symptoms" to be able to quarantine the sick, also said Emmanuel Macron.

"We are not going to test all French women and all French people, it would make no sense. But anyone with a symptom must be able to be tested. People with the virus will be able to be quarantined, taken care of and followed by a doctor, "added the head of state.

In addition, from this date, in "connection with the mayors, the State will have to allow each French to get a mask for the general public".

"For the most exposed professions and for certain situations such as in public transport, its use could become systematic," he said.

"Extended and Enhanced" Economic Measures

"The measures of partial unemployment for employees and financing for companies will be extended and strengthened," said Macron.

For artisans, traders, liberal professions and entrepreneurs, the Head of State also "asked the government to greatly increase aid" and "to simplify it". He hoped that the banks could "shift all the maturities much more massively than they did" and insisted that "the insurance must be there". Finally "a specific plan" will be implemented for the sectors which, like tourism, hotels, catering, culture and events will be durably affected by the crisis.

Aid to the most modest

The president also announced "exceptional assistance to the poorest families with children to enable them to meet their basic needs".

"The most precarious students sometimes living far from their families, especially when they come from overseas will also be helped," he added.

Borders and aid to Africa

In this context of health crisis, France's borders with non-European countries "will remain closed until further notice," said the French president.

Emmanuel Macron hopes that this health crisis will be a moment of "truth and refoundation" for Europe, with more unity and solidarity.

To "help" African countries in the face of the pandemic, the French president also called for "massively canceling their debt".

"Today in Bergamo, Madrid, Brussels, London, Beijing, New York, Algiers or Dakar, we mourn the dead from the same virus," he said.

French "misfires"

While polls show that the French are very critical of the management of the crisis, in particular the shortage of masks, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that France was "obviously not sufficiently prepared" for this pandemic, which has "revealed flaws".

There were "shortcomings as in all the countries of the world we ran out of coats, gloves, hydro-alcoholic gel, we could not distribute as many masks as we would have liked", has t he underlined by evoking "failures" from which it will be necessary to "draw all the consequences in due time".

To reinvent oneself"

Emmanuel Macron did not go into the details of the "after" coronavirus, but he called for "rebuilding French agricultural, health, industrial and technological independence".

He again spoke of a "massive plan for our health, our research and our seniors".

"We will have to build a strategy where we will find the long term, the possibility of planning, low carbon, prevention, resilience," he said. "Let’s know how to reinvent ourselves, me first".

© 2020 AFP