Macron orders French to stay home, says EU will shut external borders

16 March 2020, 9:42 pm

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French President Emmanuel Macron orders people to stay at home from midday tomorrow, except for necessary reasons, such as shopping, and says any violations of the stricter rules to battle the coronavirus will be punished.

In a 20-minute address to the nation, he says the French have to “severely restrict movements for the next 15 days at least” and limit social contacts as much as possible. Any violation of this new regime will be “punished,” he says.

Macron, who repeatedly says France is “at war” with the virus, also announces that the second round of local elections due to be held on March 22 will be postponed. He adds that the EU has agreed to shut its external borders for the next 30 days.

— AFP