French government warns 6pm curfew ‘not sufficient’ to curb virus spread
France’s nationwide 6pm curfew is “not sufficient” to slow down the spread of the virus and authorities are considering tighter restrictions, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.
Arguing that the curfew “has a relative effectiveness”, Attal told a news conference that “the data shows that at this time the curfew is not putting enough of a brake on the spread of the virus.”
He added that several scenarios are on the table, including maintaining the current framework, which in this case “seems unlikely”, strengthening the curfew with additional restrictions that could include a weekend confinement or a ban on movement between regions, or a relaxed confinement and lastly, a hard confinement, with the closure of schools, Le Figaro magazine reported.
A decision on whether to impose a third nationwide lockdown will be taken “in the coming days”, as President Emmanuel Macron asked ministers to examine the various scenarios. Attal added that Macron first wants to see data from two full weeks of the 6pm curfew to fully assess its impact on the spread of the virus.
