French PM defends plan to reopen country, senators vote against it

An aerial view of the deserted Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, during a lockdown imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in France, April 1, 2020. /Reuters

French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe defended a government plan to ease the country's COVID-19 restrictions from May 11 despite concerns the government is moving too fast to reopen schools.

Philippe said the easing of the lockdown was necessary as it had a big impact on the country economically and socially.

"This confinement was necessary to meet the emergency, but its social and economic cost is colossal," Philippe told senators while laying out his government's strategy.

"We're at a decisive moment, we cannot remain in confinement," he said. "Economic life must resume imperatively and quickly."

Critics of the government's reopening plan say the country is not ready to cope with the strict social distancing and other protective measures that will be required after May 11 to avoid a flare-up of the epidemic.

The French Senate on Monday evening voted against the plan in an 89-81 vote with 174 abstentions.

Mayors representing the Ile-de-France region, which includes France's capital city Paris, had urged President Emmanuel Macron to delay reopening schools in the country as the war against COVID-19 rages on.

In an open letter to the president, the mayors called for the reopening of learning institutions to be delayed until after May 11.

France is one of the worst affected countries globally by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has registered 169,000 infections and over 25,000 deaths, according to data from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Source(s): France 24