France is to be locked down until 11 May, and possibly longer. Whether the credibility of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency can survive that long is now in question.
Macron’s state broadcast on Monday evening was billed in advance as Churchillian but this president does not do inspiration. His message was defensive and grim, with elements of incoherence. Even normally complaisant French pundits are scathing.
If he lifts the confinement, he risks a second, lethal wave of infection. If he doesn’t, the economy will collapse entirely
Macron’s promise of support to France’s desperately overwhelmed hospitals was denounced as ‘too late’ by nurses interviewed immediately after the broadcast. Patrick Bouet, president of the national council of physicians, pronounced the lifting of confinement to be premature and potentially catastrophic. (Medics loathe Macron after he showed up at a hospital last week and argued with a nurse who denounced the lack of personal protection equipment. She was loudly applauded by her colleagues.
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