Emmanuel Macron: Why France is locking down again

The virus is now circulating at a speed that even the most pessimistic predictions had not anticipated. The number of contaminations has doubled in less than two weeks. Unlike the first wave, all regions are now at the alert threshold. In many places, we have started to postpone heart or cancer operations, sometimes already postponed until spring.

We had sought to control its circulation by relying on our capacities to test, alert and protect. This is what we have been doing since August. Have we done everything right? No. We can always improve. We could have gone faster at the beginning with the testing. We should have been more respectful of barrier gestures, at home, with friends, places where we are most contaminated.

We are now overwhelmed by the sudden acceleration of the epidemic, by a virus that seems to be gaining strength as temperatures drop. All of us in Europe are surprised by the evolution of the virus.