Emmanuel Macron will speak to the French on Tuesday, November 9 at 8 p.m., while a resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic is confirmed in France, due in particular to the drop in temperatures, a vaccination that capsizes and relaxation barrier gestures.

"Europe has once again become the epicenter of the epidemic" with "sometimes spectacular recoveries (...) In France, we are seeing a slight recovery at this stage but certain", noted Friday, November 5, the spokesperson of the government, Gabriel Attal, during a visit to a Paris pharmacy where he witnessed the administration of a third dose of the vaccine to a 67-year-old woman.

"We are facing a hedge whose height we do not know. But we have the tools to cross it", he added, confirming that the Head of State was going to address the French "very soon" to do so. update on the epidemic, but also on economic recovery and reforms.

The Elysee then said that the speech would take place Tuesday at 8 p.m., probably in the wake of a Health Defense Council.

From government sources, it will be modeled on the speech of July 12, where Emmanuel Macron had notably announced the extension of the health pass, which Parliament authorized on Friday the possible use until July 31, 2022.

>> To (re) see: Speech of July 12: "REPLAY - Compulsory vaccination and health pass ... on the menu of Emmanuel Macron's speech"

In particular, the question of conditioning the health pass to a third dose of vaccine, which has become the government's hobbyhorse, will arise.

On Friday in Montpellier, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, told AFP that the executive was thinking about this track "probably more than the track of compulsory vaccination for those over 65", promising a "reply soon".

France is ahead of many of its neighbors with nearly 75% of its population having received a full scheme.

But the pace of summer has dropped.

Thursday, the national public health agency reported 9,502 new cases and a positivity rate of 2.2% over the last seven days.

A week earlier this rate, which measures the proportion of cases among those tested, was only 1.8%.

>> To (re) see on France 24: THE DEBATE - "Covid-19: the endless pandemic?"

This recovery has started since October, as evidenced by other indicators.

The week of October 25, the incidence rate was already up 12% compared to the previous week.

Another key indicator: the reproduction rate, which measures the average number of secondary cases caused by a single infected person, has been "above 1" for three weeks as well.

The mask will also become compulsory again on Monday in schools in 39 departments where students were able to remove it.

How to explain this revival?

"It was predictable [for several reasons]," said Friday on France 2 Gilles Pialoux, head of the infectious diseases department at Tenon hospital in Paris.

"Vaccination is leveling off. We haven't refueled. Winter conditions ... Less ventilation, more groups, and lower barrier gestures."

"Now is the time"

"This could be expected at the start of the school year, given the contagiousness of the delta variant, the vaccine effectiveness, which is not enough on its own to contain the epidemic, and incomplete vaccination coverage", also notes , with AFP, epidemiologist Mircea Sofonea.

The question was rather to predict when this rebound would take place.

It arrives in France later than in other European countries, especially those in Eastern Europe, which are much less vaccinated.

Or even in neighbors to the north, like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, where the cold arrived earlier, and to a certain extent Germany, less vaccinated.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) was alarmed at the "very worrying" rate of transmission of Covid-19 in Europe, which could lead to half a million additional deaths on the continent by February .

Is the French situation worrying?

"Not for the moment", reassures Mircea Sofonea, because "we now know the levers to act".

"It is now that it is played," insists the epidemiologist.

According to him, "if the reproduction rate continues to increase, there could be situations of tension locally [in hospitals]."

Already, the prefecture of Creuse called on Thursday not to relax efforts on the third dose of vaccine and barrier gestures, after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases which could be linked to the holding of several festive events for retirees .

With AFP

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