‘We are at war’: French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered stringent restrictions on people’s movement in the country to combat coronavirus
PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ordered stringent restrictions on people’s movement to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and said the army would be drafted in to help move the sick to hospitals.
France had already shut down restaurants and bars, closed schools and put ski resorts off limits, but Macron said measures unprecedented in peacetime were needed as the number of infected people doubled every three days and deaths spiraled higher. In a somber address to the nation, the president said that from Tuesday midday people should stay at home unless it was to buy groceries, travel to work, exercise or for medical care.Related Coverage“I know what I am asking of you is unprecedented but circumstances demand it,” Macron said. “We’re not up against another army or another nation. But the enemy is right there: invisible, elusive, but it is making progress.” Some 100,000 police will be deployed to enforce the lockdown, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. Checkpoints will be set up nationwide and those on the move will have to be able to justify their journey on a printed ministry document, pedestrians included, he said. Macron said tougher action was needed after too many people ignored earlier warnings and mingled in parks and on street corners over the weekend, risking their own health and the wellbeing of others. French President Emmanuel Macron is seen addresses the nation about the coronavirus disease outbreak, on a mobile screen in this illustration picture taken March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/IllustrationUnder the new measures, soldiers would help transport the sick to hospitals with spare capacity and a military hospital with 30 intensive-care beds would be set up in the eastern region of Alsace, where one of the largest infection clusters has broken out. Macron said he was postponing the second round of local elections on Sunday. Because the government’s sole focus needed to be fighting the pandemic, he said he was suspending his reform agenda, starting with his overhaul of the pension system.French President Emmanuel Macron is seen addresses the nation about the coronavirus disease outbreak, on a television screen taken March 16, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Illustration Coronavirus infections and fatalities in France and Spain have been surging at a pace just days behind that of Italy, the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe where hospitals in the worst-hit northern regions are stretched to breaking point. Seeking to offer further reassurance to businesses, Macron said the government would guarantee 300 billion euros worth of loans. The loan guarantee plan would be submitted to parliament in coming weeks and would be retroactive, a finance ministry source said. Rent and utility bills owed by small companies would also be suspended to help them weather the economic storm, he added.Reporting by Michel Rose and Benoit Van Overstraten; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Christian Lowe
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