Fears of a second wave of the novel coronavirus epidemic in France were further fuelled on Wednesday after the number of confirmed cases rose to 185,196, when the county's health authorities said that, aside from the continuous decline of people in ICU units, indicators showed 'an increase of the viral circulation'.
The first five of 36 Rafale fighter jets ordered by India from French constructor Dassault have left France for the Asian sub-continent, accompanied by a French plane carrying 70 respirators, 100,000 test kits and 10 military health professionals to help Indian efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The four countries, grouped together in an 'Inclusive Vaccines Alliance', struck a deal this weekend with pharma group AstraZeneca to receive a Covid-19 virus vaccine under development by researchers at Oxford university in Britain, and which it is hoped will be available at the end of the year.
Patrick and Isabelle Balkany, right-wing politicians who for years governed the wealthy Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, were sentenced to prison terms of five and four years respectively.
The threat of the Covid-19 coronavirus is particularly great for France's overseas regions and territories because of their remoteness and their lack of infrastructure. But above all, as Julien Sartre writes, the pandemic risks being a disaster for the morale and mental well-being of the people living on these far-flung lands.
Official French figures released on Sunday evening indicated deaths so far in the country from Covid-19 coronavirus infection had risen to a total of 674, up by 112 since Saturday, while there were 16,018 cases of people tested positive for the virus.
