As the second wave of the pandemic is wreaking havoc and negative records are broken day after day, the government has decided to introduce new, tougher restrictions.

Emmanuel Macron began his televised address by noting that „the virus was circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated.” The number of infections has doubled in less than two weeks and, unlike during the first wave, this time all regions are on the alert threshold. Health authorities have registered 36,437 new cases in the past 24 hours. So far 35,785 people have lost their lives because of the pandemic and 58 per cent of the country s intensive care beds are being occupied by coronavirus patients. The head of state predicts that there will be 9,000 patients in intensive care units by mid-November, despite all government efforts.

Many hospitals began to reschedule surgeries for heart and cancer patients, including even those that already had to be postponed in the spring.

The president admitted that there have been some failures regarding the containment of the virus. Physical distancing should have been taken more strictly and seriously during the summer both in the company of friends and in family circles, and more testing should have been done initially.

President Macron believes that France needs additional steps to curb the spread of the virus, so the lockdown that once stopped the virus will be reintroduced on Friday. Private and public gatherings will be banned, and public institutions will also be closed down. Schools, however, will remain open, just like general shops and businesses. The enterprises deprived of their income following the lockdown will receive up to 10 thousand euros a month in a furlough scheme, and the partial unemployment system will be renewed for both employers and employees. Where possible, employees will have to switch to remote working.

The head of state emphasized that everyone needed to act  responsibly and he asked all citizens to stay at home and follow the rules, because „success depends on everyone and every hour counts.”

The measures announced by the French government will take effect from Thursday to Friday night and are expected to remain in force until at least 1 December. The French president revealed that the provisions will be discussed and voted on in parliament tomorrow. The goal is to reduce the number of daily infections from 40,000 to 5,000.

Following the president s speech, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Twitter that he would give a detailed description of the new measures starting from 6:30 pm on Thursday, 29 October.