"We do not wish it, and we must do everything to prevent that we need to worsen the means of protection of the French," the president of the LREM group told the National Assembly on France 2 on Monday.
"A dozen European countries are experiencing extremely strong tension on this subject with an epidemic resumption, and France is not immune to a new wave," he added, while the number of new Covid-19 cases have risen above 10,000 on average over the last seven days, according to figures from Public Health France on Sunday.
Could there therefore be a new confinement in France in the long term, a hypothesis that remains relevant according to government spokesman Gabriel Attal?
"The objective, and the method we have used, is that of vaccination and booster", underlined Christophe Castaner, specifying that "620,000 appointments" have been made in this direction since the last speech of Emmanuel Macron in early November.
But "all the assumptions are on the table because we are facing a virus which surprises us and can still surprise us", he recalled.
Austria has been confining since Monday people who have not been vaccinated or who have not recently contracted Covid-19, a first in the EU which aims to stem the record number of new cases.
About 65% of the population has a full vaccination schedule in Austria, a figure slightly lower than the European average of 67% and far from countries like France (75%).
Austria's decision, "that's all we want to avoid," Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire also insisted on BFMTV on Sunday.
"Nothing today justifies a new confinement, so it is not a question of finding measures that would aim to prevent a confinement that has absolutely no place," said the candidate of RN Marine Le Pen on franceinfo.
Opposed to the vaccination of children from 5 to 12 years old, the member for Pas-de-Calais is also committed to abolishing the health pass if she was elected President of the Republic because "vaccination makes it possible to avoid serious forms" .
For the candidate for the nomination LR Valérie Pécresse on the other hand, "if the pandemic were to become uncontrollable again", it "is not a question" of reconfining the vaccinated people, but only those "who risk death" because not -vaccinated, she said on BFMTV and RMC.
Valérie Pécresse, LR presidential candidate, at the debate organized by BFMTV and RMC in Paris, November 14, 2021 Thomas SAMSON AFP
During the debate Sunday evening of the candidates for the nomination of LR, Xavier Bertrand had also declared: "if there are difficult decisions to be taken, I will take them with regard to the non-vaccinated".
© 2021 AFP