French President Emmanuel Macron took to national television last night to state: “The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated. Like all our neighbors, we are submerged by the sudden acceleration of the virus…. We are all in the same position: overrun by a second wave which we know will be harder, more deadly than the first. I have decided that we need to return to the lockdown which stopped the virus.” Macron said that France needs to put on the “hard brakes” on the circulation of the virus. “Nothing is more important than human life.”
The month-long lockdown will allow schools, construction sites and some workplaces to stay open, but beginning Friday, Oct. 30, all restaurants, bars and non-essential businesses were ordered shut down. Macron said people should work remotely wherever possible. He said unlike in the spring lockdown, this time nursing homes will remain open to visitors when possible, and cemeteries will be open so that people can hold in-person funerals.
