MACRON: WE ARE AT WAR!
France brings in toughest restrictions in EU as death toll passes 140
‘We have got to act with strength’ ‘Nothing will be as before’
EMMANUEL Macron launched an astonishing blueprint to tackle coronavirus last night, declaring that France was ‘at war’.
Announcing the most dramatic battle plan of any European nation, the French president said the country will close its borders from midday today.
Families will be banned from meeting relatives who live far away and citizens barred from leaving their homes for any non-essential journeys, with police given powers to ‘punish’ anyone who breaks the rules.
Hotels, other private businesses and taxis will be requisitioned by the state to help the health service treat the sick, while no business – regardless of size – will be allowed to go bust.
The army will also be deployed to help take patients to hospitals and the state will ensure food and energy bills the most vulnerable cannot afford will be paid.
In a solemn television address, Mr Macron said: ‘We are in a situation of war, a health war for sure. We’re not fighting against an army or other nation but the enemy is there, it’s invisible and it’s progressing.
‘As far as France is concerned, there is not a single company – whatever its size – not a single company will go bankrupt. Not a single French man or woman will be left without resources.
‘France is living through a very difficult moment – there’s no one who can really envisage how long it will last. Many things we thought were impossible are happening, but we mustn’t be frightened.
‘We have got to act with strength. We are at war, and all the government’s actions and the parliament’s actions have now got to turn towards the fight towards this epidemic.’
France recorded 21 new deaths yesterday and 1,210 new coronavirus cases, taking its death toll to more than 140 and total cases to above 6,600.
It came as the European Union yesterday announced unprecedented plans to ban all entry into the bloc from the rest of the world – and invited Britain to opt in. The measures will last for a month and came as the coronavirus crisis dramatically tightened its grip on Europe, now the global centre of the pandemic.
Several countries increased restrictions on their land borders as the death toll across the EU soared and officials admitted a continent-wide recession was ‘on the cards’.
Announcing the EU-wide battle plan, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Britons would be exempt if the UK joined in.
She said: ‘UK citizens are European citizens so of course there are no restrictions for the UK citizens to travel to the continent.’
It was unclear last night whether the UK will join the plan.
Mrs von der Leyen said EU citizens coming home from non-EU countries would be exempt from the travel ban, along with healthcare workers and scientists working on a solution to the crisis. Socalled ‘fast-flow green corridors’ for goods vehicles will also be created to keep supplies flowing between countries which have closed their borders.
EU Council president Charles Michel said: ‘We owe European citizens the truth – this is a serious crisis, a long crisis, it’s going to be a difficult crisis, but that is why it’s even more important that we show a united front.’
It came as Spain ramped up its measures by also closing its borders. From 11pm last night, only Spaniards, residents of Spain, workers who have to cross borders to get to work and diplomats were allowed in. The country, which had already restricted domestic travel, saw a surge of 1,000 cases in 24 hours to 8,744 yesterday, with the number of deaths nearing 300.
France and Spain join Germany, Denmark, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic among EU countries who have closed or restricted their internal borders after applying for permission from Brussels.
Spain has also introduced a 15day state of emergency which bans people from public spaces which ministers yesterday said they would almost certainly have to extend. Transport minister Jose Luis Abalos said: ‘In 15 days I do not think that we will be in a position to win this battle.’
Italian PM Giuseppe Conte warned ‘nothing will be as before’ following the epidemic, even suggesting it could lead to freedom of movement and the rules of the EU’s single market being re-written. And despite reporting 349 new deaths – taking the country’s death toll to more than 2,000 – he said the country had not reached its ‘peak’.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel ramped up her country’s measures by banning holidays at home and abroad and any non-essential trips outside the home.
Having already introduced border controls, she said: ‘There have never been measures like this in our country before. They are farreaching, but at the moment they are necessary.’