'We are in a health war': France severely limits movements for 2 week, cancels municipal elections

Adresse aux Français. https://t.co/V0kwXbU79J

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 16, 2020

The lockdown begins on Tuesday at noon. At the same time, France’s borders with the rest of the Schengen area – much of the EU – will be closed as well, the president announced.

"We are at war” he repeated several times, noting that France’s struggle is not against a nation or an army, but the “invisible enemy” of the covid-19 coronavirus, the rapidly spreading contagion rampaging through the EU.

Anyone defying the restrictions will be punished, Macron noted, without specifying whether the penalties will be civil or criminal.
 

Not a single French company will go bankrupt. Not a single French person will go without help.

However, the collection of utility bills – gas, electricity, water and rent – will also be suspended for the duration, as the Elysee Palace sought to temper the hardship imposed on France.

France has registered at least 6,633 cases of covid-19 as of Monday, with 148 fatalities. Macron admitted he did not know for how long the current situation will go on.