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Paris (AP) - France is imposing tough restrictions nationwide for four weeks in the fight against Corona and is also temporarily closing schools.
President Emmanuel Macron announced this in a televised address.
Macron spoke of a “race against time”.
From Easter Saturday onwards, non-essential shops across the country have to be closed.
There are also strict restrictions on movement.
For the first time in the current school year, the schools will also remain closed.
The President had repeatedly emphasized that he wanted to prevent this as long as possible.
All over the country, schools are now to be closed for three weeks after the Easter weekend.
First there is one week of distance classes, followed by two weeks of spring break for everyone.
So far, different regulations were planned in the regions.
Movement restrictions also apply throughout the country from the weekend - for example, people are not allowed to move further than ten kilometers from their home for walks or sports.
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These regulations already applied in large parts of the country.
Compared to the restrictions last spring or autumn, they are significantly less strict.
At that time there was a movement radius of only one kilometer.
Furthermore, the evening curfew from 7 p.m. should also apply.
Later, people are only allowed to go outside if they have a valid reason - shopping or walks are not part of it.
Macron said that at any stage of the epidemic, it could be said that mistakes had been made.
«All of this is true.
But I know one thing: we have persevered, we have learned, and we have improved every time. "
Companies should now rely even more on home offices in the future.
Macron also gave hope for careful openings.
In mid-May, the outdoor areas of the gastronomy and some cultural sites will gradually reopen.
In addition, the intensive care beds in the hospitals are to be increased from 7,000 to 10,000.
In France it had been speculated for some time that Macron would turn to his compatriots again because of the tense situation.
Most recently, Prime Minister Jean Castex had announced further restrictions on several occasions.
Schools in France have so far only been closed during the first strict lockdown last spring.
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The corona situation in the country had worsened significantly in the past few weeks.
Hospitals in the greater Paris area in particular are sounding massive alarms because the intensive care units are overcrowded.
The number of new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week was recently a good 375 nationwide. Last week, Germany classified France as a high-incidence area and tightened the entry regulations.
In the country with around 67 million inhabitants, over 95,000 people have died so far.
So far, there have been two lockdowns, so-called confinements, in France - one last spring and one in autumn.
After the confinement at the end of last year, theaters, museums, restaurants and bars remained closed.
Sometimes there were also so-called weekend lockdowns in particularly affected regions.
If you want to move to a region and isolate yourself there, you can do so on the Easter weekend, Macron said.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210331-99-47395 / 2