French President Emmanuel Macron has extended the stringent exit restrictions in the fight against Covid-19 until May 11th. There is hope, Macron said on Monday night in a televised speech. But in the Grand Est region or in the Paris area, hospitals are overworked. The President thanked everyone who followed the rules. He knew that this would be even more difficult if you lived in a narrow apartment. Macron warned that May 11, as the end of the exit restrictions, would only be possible if people continued to behave responsibly.
“May 11th will be the beginning of a new stage,” said Macron. From then on, schools and kindergartens should gradually reopen. However, restaurants, cafés or hotels should remain closed for the time being. Seniors or the chronically ill should then also remain at home. From May 11th, there should be enough capacity to test all people with symptoms. Whoever has the virus should then be quarantined. Macron also advocated an anonymous anti-corona app on a voluntary basis. The strict rules have been in effect since March 17 and have already been extended. The French can only leave the house if absolutely necessary.
In his speech, Macron also appealed to European solidarity. A lot has already been done by the governments, the EU Commission and the European Central Bank. But in this “moment of truth” more courage and ambition are needed, he said.
Like Italy and Spain, France is one of the countries in the crisis that advocates joint European borrowing via so-called corona bonds. Germany and the Netherlands reject this. Macron did not explicitly address this dispute in his speech. He called for the African countries to be helped in the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic and the massive deleveraging of these countries.
