The French government may be considering a one-month national lockdown in response to surging coronavirus cases and higher deaths.
The lockdown could take effect from midnight on Thursday, France’s BFM TV reported on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to make a televised address on Wednesday. His office did not comment on whether Macron would announce such a measure then.
BFM TV added the lockdown under consideration would be “more flexible” than the strict restrictions on movement imposed in France in March this year.
The French government has been loath to impose a new lockdown that would pummel the economy even harder, and business chiefs have warned a total shutdown would force another wave of layoffs and bankruptcies.
Instead, the authorities imposed a curfew this month that now requires about 46 million people — two-thirds of the population — to be home from 9:00 pm to 06:00 am, as the number of daily virus cases has flared.
Media reports say Macron, who met on the topic with senior ministers Tuesday, might extend the curfew hours, possibly with a full lockdown on weekends, or else order targeted lockdowns for the hardest-hit regions.
Another option could be to postpone the return of students from the autumn holiday that ends this weekend, in particular to high schools and universities.
On Tuesday, it reported more than 33,400 new cases and 523 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, as well as a net increase of 74 admissions to intensive care.
This brought the overall number of people in intensive care to 2,918, over half the country’s overall capacity of 5,800.
