The city authorities in Paris, led by mayor Anne Hidalgo, have suggested that the French capital and surrounding region be put under a new lockdown to tackle the worsening Covid-19 virus situation there. This has piled pressure on President Emmanuel Macron who has been described by some as the country's “epidemiologist-in-chief” and who has so far resisted growing calls for a lockdown not just in the capital but across France. As Ellen Salvi reports, the Paris authorities are effectively asking a question that the head of state's supporters are refusing to countenance: what if the French president has got it wrong?
The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and her allies have laid down a political gauntlet for President Emanuel Macron. On Thursday February 25th, after the latest declarations by prime minister Jean Castex about the Covid-19 crisis, Hidalgo's deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire told Franceinfo radio that he regretted the “current situation” and the “wait-and-see” approach adopted by the French government over the last three weeks.
