Europe 1 with AFP 06:09, November 10, 2021

Shortly after Emmanuel Macron's televised address, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer announced that wearing a mask will again be compulsory from Monday for elementary school students throughout France.

Since the start of the school year, the students had put back the mask in 39 metropolitan departments.

Wearing a mask will again be compulsory in elementary school from Monday throughout France, the Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday, after President Emmanuel Macron's speech.

"From next Monday, all departments move to level 2 of the health protocol," with "new masks for all students" of the elementary school, said the ministry.

Since the start of the school year, 61 departments were concerned

Since the start of the All Saints holidays this Monday, students from CP to CM2 have put back the mask in 39 metropolitan departments where they had removed it, as well as in Reunion, bringing to 61 departments in total the number of those where it is compulsory (57 metropolitan departments and four overseas).

Announced last week by government spokesman Gabriel Attal, the return of the mask with the return of the All Saints holidays concerned "the departments where the incidence rate has unfortunately stabilized above 50 for 100,000 inhabitants ".

An increase in the incidence rate of 40% in one week

The government announced in September the end of wearing masks for primary school students in the departments least affected by the epidemic.

At the beginning of October, 47 departments had been able to remove it, followed by others in the following weeks.

In total, the wearing of masks at school had been lifted before All Saints' Day in 79 departments, before coming back in force with the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Faced with the epidemic rebound, Emmanuel Macron spoke to the French on Tuesday to talk about the health situation, in particular putting pressure on seniors to be injected with a booster dose, on pain of losing their health pass.

"The fifth wave has started in Europe in the United Kingdom, in Germany, where more than 30,000 new additional cases are recorded every day", noted the head of state, who argued a "situation in France more favorable" , but a 40% increase in the incidence rate in one week.