France will enter a new, nationwide lockdown for four weeks from 3 April, in an attempt to stem rising Covid-19 cases.
President Emmanuel Macron said the measures include a 19:00 curfew, compulsory homeworking where possible, the closure of certain businesses and a ban on inter-regional travel and on journeys of more than 10km from home without good reason. The restrictions will last until at least 2 May.
The move could curb a recent recovery in road fuel demand. Consumption of gasoline and diesel in France rose by 11pc in February from January, although only to a level 11pc lower than in February 2020, according to oil products industry association UFIP.
This is the second 'hard' lockdown in France since the start of the pandemic, although restrictions have been in place in one form or another throughout the past 12 months. Macron said the latest measures are in place because new variants of the coronavirus "may cause us to lose control if we do not move". France has recorded more than 4.7mn cases of Covid-19 and is the world's fourth-most infected country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Macron said that more than 8.5mn people in France have received a first Covid-19 vaccine, while 3mn people have received two doses. But the country's roll-out has been slower than some other developed nations, partly because of uncertainty over the efficacy of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine.
