President Macron calls Covid-19 meeting for Wednesday
It comes as the government's spokesman says that the current curfew measures are working but that the level of circulation of the virus remains "unacceptable"
President Emmanuel Macron has called a conseil de défense sanitaire - a meeting where top ministers, including the president, discuss coronavirus-related matters - for Wednesday (February 3).
The government’s spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said in an interview with Franceinfo today (February 1) that the current 18:00 curfew measures are having an effect, but that the circulation of the virus is not at an acceptable level.
He said that the number of new cases of Covid-19 increased by 4% in the past week, which is down from between 10 to 15% the week before.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday (January 29) that the government was aiming to avoid introducing another lockdown.
"The question of confinement is a legitimate one but we know the heavy impact it has on the country and people in all respects. We are going to give ourselves a chance to avoid it," said Mr Castex.
Instead, Mr Castex announced tighter travel restrictions and a strengthening of controls by police to catch people breaking the 18:00 to 06:00 curfew.
No lockdown for France but crackdown on curfew breaches
Newspaper Le Monde has reported that President Macron has found himself under pressure from a number of scientists who believe that the current Covid measures are not sufficient.
Mahmoud Zureik, a professor of epidemiology and public health at the university of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines said that the government should consider regional measures of lockdowns.
“If we opt for strong and national lockdown, we must be able to anticipate a sufficient number of elderly or frail people being vaccinated at the time of deconfinement to avoid a permanent stop and go," he told Le Monde.
“However, we know that in February-March the number of people vaccinated will probably be insufficient,” he said.
A conseil de défense sanitaire was also held last week and after it Mr Attal said that the 18:00 curfew was not "sufficiently" stopping the spread of Covid-19. He said that the introduction of a "very tight" lockdown is one of several scenarios the government is studying.
The discussion that takes place at the conseil de défense sanitaire will be based on the latest figures on the Covid-19 situation in France.
No government announcement on Covid-19 is expected to be made before the meeting on Wednesday.
Read more:
'Very tight' lockdown is one option under review in France
Think tank criticises France over Covid-19 management
