Why it matters: “(France has been) overpowered by a second wave,” Macron said in a national televised address Wednesday, noting the “new wave will be stronger and deadlier,” than the first. The announcement comes after the country saw over 36,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.
Details: Though non-essential businesses, including bars and restaurants, will close, schools and factories will remain open. Macron said the measures come as an attempt to implement a “brutal break” to the spread of COVID-19.
People will only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons.
The lockdown will be eased once new daily infections fall back to about 5,000, the Guardian reports.
