France has put at least 46 million of its residents under curfew in 54 departments and one overseas territory, government officials said.
Some 38 departments were added to the curfew from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am, after nine metropolitan areas were restricted last week in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“The situation is serious. It is serious in Europe, it is serious in France,” said Prime Minister Jean Castex at a press conference on Thursday.
“The health situation in our country has continued to degrade,” Castex said, explaining that the virus progressed 40% in one week. Cases are doubling every 15 days, Castex added.
He called on citizens to wear their masks, to wash their hands, and to respect a one-metre distance. He said it was a subject of “collective solidarity” to reduce social contacts.
“When we are not affected, we think we are untouchable,” Castex said. “No one can consider themselves safe from this, even young people.”
France has recorded a record number of daily cases in recent weeks, often surpassing 30,000 cases a day. That means, health minister Olivier Véran said, there are more than 1000 new cases every hour of the day and night.