Paris (AFP)

Prime Minister Jean Castex must set to music Thursday in front of Parliament and the press the reconfinement of France decided by President Emmanuel Macron in order to stem the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, "no doubt more deadly" than the first one.

The Prime Minister will speak on Thursday to detail the announcements made by the president on Wednesday evening, first in front of the National Assembly and then in front of the Senate in the afternoon, where new measures related to containment will be put to a vote of parliamentarians , before a press conference scheduled for 6.30 p.m.

The Head of State announced, during a televised address, that from Friday, a "confinement" on "the whole national territory" would again be in force to contain the epidemic of Covid-19, of which the first wave had killed more than 30,000 people in the spring.

Until December 1 "at a minimum", "you will be able to leave your home only to work, to go to a medical appointment, to assist a loved one, to do your essential shopping or to take the air near your home. ", he detailed, announcing the return of the certificate.

However, with three major changes compared to the spring confinement: schools, colleges and high schools will remain open, work can continue, nursing homes and retirement homes can be visited. ”At the university, online courses will be privileged.

-Details in front of the press at 6.30 p.m. -

Jean Castex will appear before parliamentarians on Thursday in order to submit these new provisions to a vote, even if this will not be binding on the government.

The population had already been confined for 55 days in the spring, with severe restrictions on movement and the closure of schools, non-essential businesses and borders.

Mr. Castex will have to face the reactions from all sides, which have not failed to flow following the announcements made by Emmanuel Macron.

For Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, president of Medef, "this reconfinement will cost the country between 50 and 75 billion euros of GDP and cause considerable economic and human damage."

The "boss of the bosses" believes that "it is not in the shops that contamination is done but in the private sphere and yet it is they who are penalized. I understand their dismay and their anger."

Remained open in recent weeks despite the curfew, bars and restaurants will have to lower their curtains from Thursday midnight, and deplore being "singled out" by the voice of Roland Héguy, president of the Union des métiers des hospitality industries), the main hospitality union.

"We have the impression that we are the ones who are spreading the epidemic," he told AFP.

"From this weekend, thousands of traders will no longer have one euro in revenue, but still fixed charges. 30% of our businesses risk not surviving."

- Authorized sports competitions -

For the rest of the population, work "can continue" during confinement: "You can go out to work", assured the president, but "wherever possible, telework will be generalized again".

"Whatever we do, nearly 9,000 patients will be in intensive care in mid-November, which is almost all of the French capacity," Macron warned, echoing the strong concerns expressed by experts in recent weeks.

Resuscitation capacities will be increased to 10,000 beds, ie a doubling of the initial number.

The number of patients there rose to 3,036 on Wednesday, or more than half of the 5,800 sheave beds available throughout France.

The first details were provided overnight from Wednesday to Thursday by the Minister for Sports in the National Assembly, where she announced that professional sports competitions could continue during this new period of confinement.

"Top athletes and professional athletes will be able to continue to train. And they will also be able to continue to compete since travel for professional reasons is authorized," said Ms. Maracineanu.

If the reconfinement is planned throughout the national territory, "adaptations" are however planned for the Overseas, according to the words of Emmanuel Macron.

They should also be specified Thursday by the government.

© 2020 AFP