Paris (AFP)

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal criticized Tuesday the attitude of the mayor (PS) of Paris Anne Hidalgo, calling on him to show "responsibility" in his defense of businesses while Parisian hospitals are in "almost overflow".

"I exchanged yesterday with caregivers of Parisian hospitals, they were for the most part stunned by the attitude of Anne Hidalgo these last days", explained on BFMTV the secretary of state.

"Today we will reach 1,000 patients in intensive care in hospitals in the Ile-de-France region, which are almost overflowing and for a few days we have heard Madame Hidalgo worry about the issue of shops, say: + everything must be reopened +" he added.

"She is also president of the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, let her also give this speech to caregivers who are struggling, who are overwhelmed and who are afraid of not being able to welcome all the patients in the days to come" , he reproached him.

"I hear that elected officials want to defend the economic life of their city (...) but it is necessary all the same I think to have a little responsibility vis-a-vis the situation", he concluded.

"Parisians (...) really consider their bookstore as a local, essential trade. I am here to support this idea, of course calling for bookstores to reopen as soon as possible", the mayor of Paris said on Monday. , alongside the writer Sylvain Tesson, for a booksellers initiative called "Rekindle the fires of our bookstores".

Beyond bookstores alone, the rebellion has amplified in recent days among small traders, forced to close during confinement while supermarkets can remain open, and among elected officials who support them.

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