Will Macron start an EU Covid chain reaction?

The Elysée palace has just confirmed that French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, after developing symptoms this week. In a statement, the palace said the President had been tested ‘as soon as the first symptoms appeared’ and will now be self-isolating for the next seven days.

It’s not yet clear how badly Macron has been affected by the disease, nor when he was infected. One can only wish him the best of health in the coming days. But Mr Steerpike couldn’t also help noticing, while looking through recent photos of EU meetings, that Macron’s positive test may pose some practical difficulties for EU leaders…

In recent weeks Macron has not exactly been locked up inside the French Presidential palace, and has taken part in a number of bilateral and EU summits with other European leaders. With that in mind, below are the candidates most likely to be affected by Macron’s positive test:

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, pictured 10 December (photo: Getty)

European council President, Charles Michel, pictured 14 December (photo: Getty)

Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, pictured 10 December (photo: Getty)

Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, pictured 16 December (photo: Getty)

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, pictured 10 December (photo: Getty)

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, pictured 10 December (photo: Getty)

OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurria, pictured 14 December (photo: Getty)

Poland’s Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, pictured 10 December (photo: Getty)