Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse fell again by 1.74% at mid-session on Friday, ending an already trying week on a very negative note, as investors watch like milk on fire the decisions to restrict movement in Europe .

Around 1:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m. GMT), the Parisian star index CAC 40 fell 85.65 points to 4,679.97 points, after having widened its losses throughout the morning.

The Parisian market, which has plunged by around 6% since Monday, was heading for its worst week since June.

Mistrust was also European scale: Frankfurt lost 1.71% and London 0.57% on Friday.

“This week was a reminder that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Milan Cutkovic, analyst at AxiCorp.

Concerns about government announcements of travel restrictions, or even partial reconfigurations in Europe "especially in Spain, France and the United Kingdom", have made a comeback since Monday on the markets, notes Valentin Bulle, manager for Dôm Finance .

"The measures to close bars and restaurants, and the imposition of a limited number of people in public places, lead us to believe that at least partial re-containment could be possible and considered because in terms of health we observe an aggravation "of the pandemic, continues the expert.

France, which announced new restrictions, recorded 16,096 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, a record since the launch of large-scale tests in the country, according to data released Thursday evening by Public Health France.

The 5 million mark on the Old Continent was also crossed this week.

The European Union on Thursday called on its member states to toughen their control measures "immediately" in the face of new outbreaks of the Covid-19 epidemic.

ARNAULT MAKES LAGARDERE FLY

The Lagardère title jumped 32.15% to 20.10 euros on the Paris Stock Exchange on Friday the day after the announcement of Bernard Arnault's acquisition of a stake in the company's capital, in the midst of a battle between shareholders.

TOURISM VICTIM OF CONCERN

As often in recent weeks, the tourism sector, largely affected by the pandemic, was the victim of uncertainties: Lufthansa plunged from 4.75% to 6.94 euros, Air France-KLM from 4.97% to 3.34 euros, and Airbus from 2.77% to 67.51 euros.

BMW PERMITTED

The German car maker (-2.66% to 59.03 euros) was fined 18 million euros by the US stock market policeman, the SEC, for having artificially inflated its sales in order to seduce investors.

© 2020 AFP