France is still "far from deconfinement," government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned Wednesday, citing an adaptation of rules on 1 December rather than a loosening, in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic.
"We are not at all at deconfinement, we are even far from it. We are talking about a possible adaptation of containment from 1 December if the health situation allows us to do so," Attal said, stressing the "extreme tension in hospitals" during the Council of Ministers' meeting.
Calling for "not giving the impression that the crisis is behind us," he stressed that "we are still a long way from having won the war against the virus", and that "we have to live with the constraints necessary to contain it for some time to come."
Related News
- Coronavirus: Over 40,000 deaths in France
- Belgium now Europe's 6th worst country for coronavirus infections
He restated that Emmanuel Macron has committed that an update on the evolution of the epidemic and containment will be made "every two weeks". "There will still be stages, the containment will continue beyond 1 December even if it has to be adapted", he said.
On the subject of small shops, which, along with some elected representatives, are calling for a reopening on that date, he spoke of "a stage around 1 December", again if the health situation continues to improve and "if a health protocol is adopted in consultation".
He also pointed out that, as at 16 November, "more than 1.2 million" inspections had been carried out in France and "152,000 offences" had been detected, almost a third of which were in the Ile-de-France region.
The Brussels Times
