The French government will impose a daily nationwide curfew at 6pm starting Saturday to fight the spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.

The measure will remain in force for at least two weeks,
Castex told a news conference.

Up to now, most of France has been under an 8pm curfew, with some parts of the country, especially in the hard-hit east, already under the stricter 6pm curfew.

Castex said a much-feared infection surge following the
year-end holidays had not happened, but said a new lockdown could be imposed
“without delay” if the health situation were to deteriorate badly.

The situation in France is “under control”, he
said, but still “fragile”.

Schools will remain open, but indoor sports activities have
again been banned for now.

Castex also said that travellers arriving in France from
non-European Union destinations would have to present a negative Covid test
less than 72 hours old, and would have to self-isolate for seven days. They
would then have to take a second test.