PARIS (Reuters) – The French government on Wednesday declared a public health state of emergency, giving officials greater powers to impose new measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Announcing the decision in a statement, the government said the epidemic was a public health disaster which endangered the health of the population and justified the adoption of strict measures.
The government’s statement did not say what action it would take, but the adoption of the state of emergency gives the authorities statutory power to impose tough measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to detail the measures being planned when he gives an interview on national television at around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Wednesday.
French media reported that a nightly curfew between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am was one of the measures Macron would unveil.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Writing by Christian Lowe, Editing by Franklin Paul, Kirsten Donovan)
