This defense council was decided on Wednesday by the Elysee.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal then did not rule out "new decisions by the end of the week (...) to take the necessary measures".

He had mentioned an acceleration of the vaccination campaign, the strengthening of border controls and the establishment of recommendations for family celebrations.

Even before the meeting was held, the government announced Thursday that France would tighten its access conditions for travelers from the United Kingdom in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant.

The validity of tests to travel to France from the United Kingdom will be reduced from 48 hours to 24 hours, said Gabriel Attal, and the reasons for travel will be "limited to French residents and their families".

Travel "tourism or business for people who are not resident in France will be limited".

The Eurostar terminal at Gare du Nord, in Paris, in April 2020 FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

Faced with an outbreak of contamination linked to the Omicron variant, the United Kingdom on Thursday recorded 88,376 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, a record since the start of the pandemic for the second consecutive day.

"We must not kid ourselves: there is a time when this variant will invade the planet like its predecessor the Delta variant", recognized Thursday the Minister of Health Olivier Véran.

"Family Christmas"

With this new threat, the government actually fears "a wave in a wave".

The fifth wave caused in France by the Delta variant, already very contagious, continues to surge.

Thursday, 60,866 new cases were diagnosed while the day before the number of new cases (65,713) had reached an unprecedented level since the beginning of April.

Their seven-day average, more telling to avoid daily fluctuations, continued to rise to 50,703.

The government fears a saturation of hospitals with the approach of the end of year holidays, in particular because of staff on leave during this period.

Covid-19: situation in AFP hospitals

Especially since a third threat weighs: the arrival of the flu.

To meet these challenges, the government should again rely on an acceleration of the vaccination and the booster dose, which could partially protect the Omicron variant.

Reducing the period of five months between the second and the third dose to go to four months, as other countries have done, could be an "interesting" track, according to the Minister of Health.

"When all the people who must be vaccinated before January 15 have been, probably in January we can discuss the shortening of this period," said Thursday evening Mr. Véran during the program C à Vous.

Vaccination for all children aged 5 to 11 should also be offered soon.

But the subject is sensitive and the government is still awaiting the opinions of the High Authority for Health (HAS) and the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE).

The latter will be published this Friday.

Mr. Véran also indicated that the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) in the United States would give on December 21 "all the real-life results of vaccination in children in terms of effectiveness and assurance (...) that there is no adverse effect ".

Vaccination at a school in Chicago, Illinois on November 12, 2021 SCOTT OLSON GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP / Archives

The HAS and the vaccine strategy steering committee, "everyone is responding to us in the coming week," he added.

More than two-thirds (68%) of parents of children aged 5 to 11 are opposed to childhood immunizations, including 47% very opposed, according to an Elabe poll for L'Express, BFMTV and SFR released on Thursday.

A few days before the holidays, the government should also renew its advice of caution to the French, and recommend vaccination, tests (including self-tests), barrier gestures and limiting the number of diners at the table.

But, the French "will celebrate Christmas with the family", promised Olivier Véran.

© 2021 AFP