France announces new national coronavirus lockdown

Emmanuel Macron.
(Image credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

France is returning to a nationwide lockdown amid rising coronavirus infections, President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday.

The restrictions, which are set to kick in at midnight Thursday and will last until mid-December with period reviews before then, are similar to the country's previous lockdown this spring — people will only be able to leave their home for work purposes if remote work is not feasible, buy essential goods, seek medical attention, and exercise for one hour a day. Unlike the earlier iteration, however, schools and nurseries will remain open for the most part. Funerals and visits to care homes will be allowed, as well.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.