Macron to give TV address to France on Monday

French president Emmanuel Macron's office has confirmed that he will be giving a televised announcement on Monday, raising fears of new health restrictions as France sees an increase in Covid cases, driven by the delta variant.

Published: 9 July 2021 17:30 CEST

Macron to give TV address to France on Monday

Photo: Stephane du Sakatin/AFP

The president’s Elysée Palace confirmed on Friday the TV address, which is scheduled for 8pm on Monday, July 12th.

It is reported that Macron will not only focus on the health crisis but will also touch on other topics.

However the announcement has raised fears of a reintroduction of some health restrictions as Covid cases begin to rise again and health minister Olivier Véran warned that over the weekend it is expected the delta variant will become the dominant strain of the virus in France.

Epidémie de Covid-19 : Emmanuel Macron s'adressera aux Français lundi à 20 heureshttps://t.co/ksPovebVDZ pic.twitter.com/HUPpfshasx

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) July 9, 2021

Macron’s previous live TV appearances over the last 18 months have mostly heralded the arrival of new restrictions, although on April 29th he did a group interview with French regional newspapers to announce the four-step plan for lifting France’s lockdown.

The great majority of health restrictions in France have now been lifted, although masks remain compulsory in all indoor public spaces and some outdoor areas.

But fears over the more transmissible delta variant of Covid have lead some local authorities to delay lifting restrictions, while authorities in towns including Nice have reintroduced the mask-wearing rule in the street.

Covid cases in France remain at their lowest level for a year, with around 2,000 new cases per day, but there is concern over the rapid growth of cases across the Channel in the UK, and in other European countries including Portugal and Spain.

Le taux d'incidence en France, tous âges confondus, augmente pour le dixième jour consécutif (+52% en une semaine). #Covid19
1/3 pic.twitter.com/IRkfaCQ89r

— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) July 9, 2021

Europe minister Clément Beaune earlier in the week told French people to ‘avoid Spain and Portugal’ when booking holidays.

An extra meeting of France’s Defence Council, which decides on health restrictions, is scheduled for Monday morning.

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“I don’t believe in the model… which would involve finding third countries on the African continent or elsewhere where we’d send people who arrive on our soil illegally, who don’t come from these countries,” Macron said.

“We’re creating a geopolitics of cynicism which betrays our values and will build new dependencies, and which will prove completely ineffective,” he added in a wide-ranging speech on the future of the European Union at Paris’ Sorbonne University.

British MPs on Tuesday passed a law providing for undocumented asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and where they would stay if the claims succeed.

The law is a flagship policy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, which badly lags the opposition Labour party in the polls with an election expected within months.

Britain pays Paris to support policing of France’s northern coast, aimed at preventing migrants from setting off for perilous crossings in small boats.

Five people, including one child, were killed in an attempted crossing Tuesday, bringing the toll on the route so far this year to 15 – already higher than the 12 deaths in 2023.

But Macron had warm words for London when he praised the two NATO allies’ bilateral military cooperation, which endured through the contentious years of Britain’s departure from the EU.

“The British are deep natural allies (for France) and the treaties that bind us together… lay a solid foundation,” he said.

“We have to follow them up and strengthen them, because Brexit has not affected this relationship,” Macron added.

The president also said France should seek similar “partnerships” with fellow EU members.