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AFP
Paris
The French government said Saturday that it will unveil a week later than originally planned a 100-billion-euro ($118 billion) plan to nurse its coronavirus-stricken economy back to health.
Businesses had eagerly awaited details of the new shot in the arm for the eurozone’s second-largest economy, trailed for August 25, and government spokesman Gabriel Attal said it was “ready”.
But for now “the government is completely mobilised to prepare for the health deadline” of September 1, when pupils return to school and many workers will be back from summer holidays, Attal said in a statement.
Groundwork must be laid, including a nationwide requirement to wear masks in workplaces and secondary schools, he said, adding that President Emmanuel Macron wants ministers working “to make sure these measures are applied properly and allow everyone to adopt them”.
Only then will the economic plan be presented “in the first week of September”.
Paris is sticking to its aim of returning French GDP to the same level as before the coronavirus pandemic by 2022, Attal said.
Fears have been growing in recent days that France could be struck by a second wave of the virus, as official figures showed the number of newly-detected cases had mounted to almost 4,600 in the 24 hours to Friday.
But numbers of people hospitalised or in intensive care with the COVID-19 disease have remained relatively stable despite the increase in infections.
France, along with a number of other euro-area countries, is grappling with a resurgence of the pandemic. While officials have tightened measures to curb the spread of the virus, they’re reluctant to resort to the economy-crushing closures imposed during the initial peak of the crisis in March and April. “We cannot shut down the country, because the collateral damage of confinement is considerable,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with Paris Match magazine ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday. France reported 4,771 new infections, the largest increase since mid-April.
Paris
The French government said Saturday that it will unveil a week later than originally planned a 100-billion-euro ($118 billion) plan to nurse its coronavirus-stricken economy back to health.
Businesses had eagerly awaited details of the new shot in the arm for the eurozone’s second-largest economy, trailed for August 25, and government spokesman Gabriel Attal said it was “ready”.
But for now “the government is completely mobilised to prepare for the health deadline” of September 1, when pupils return to school and many workers will be back from summer holidays, Attal said in a statement.
Groundwork must be laid, including a nationwide requirement to wear masks in workplaces and secondary schools, he said, adding that President Emmanuel Macron wants ministers working “to make sure these measures are applied properly and allow everyone to adopt them”.
Only then will the economic plan be presented “in the first week of September”.
Paris is sticking to its aim of returning French GDP to the same level as before the coronavirus pandemic by 2022, Attal said.
Fears have been growing in recent days that France could be struck by a second wave of the virus, as official figures showed the number of newly-detected cases had mounted to almost 4,600 in the 24 hours to Friday.
But numbers of people hospitalised or in intensive care with the COVID-19 disease have remained relatively stable despite the increase in infections.
France, along with a number of other euro-area countries, is grappling with a resurgence of the pandemic. While officials have tightened measures to curb the spread of the virus, they’re reluctant to resort to the economy-crushing closures imposed during the initial peak of the crisis in March and April. “We cannot shut down the country, because the collateral damage of confinement is considerable,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with Paris Match magazine ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday. France reported 4,771 new infections, the largest increase since mid-April.
