The people of France woke up on Thursday to a new set of restrictive measures as the country tries to fight off a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

France's President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered France into its third national lockdown and said schools would close for three weeks.

With the death toll nearing 100,000, intensive care units in the hardest-hit regions at breaking point and a slower-than-planned vaccine rollout, Macron was forced to abandon his goal of keeping the country open to protect the economy.

Movement restrictions already in place for more than a week in Paris, and some northern and southern regions, will now apply to the whole country for at least a month, from Saturday.

Daily new infections in France have doubled since February to average nearly 40,000. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has breached 5,000, exceeding the peak hit during a six-week-long lockdown late last year.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/7731908/france-covid-19-measures/

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