France will have to spend around two billion euros (over $2.3 billion) to cover the expenses incurred during implementation of curfew across France in a bid to curb the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 broadcaster on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) France will have to spend around two billion Euros (over $2.3 billion) to cover the expenses incurred during implementation of curfew across France in a bid to curb the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 broadcaster on Friday.
France has been hit with the second outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, with a new record daily high of 41,622 confirmed cases of new infections on October 22. The government has warned that the epidemiological situation would likely deteriorate in the coming weeks, prompting the authorities to introduce harsher restrictions, in addition to already imposed curfew from 9 p.m. (7 GMT) to 6 a.m. (4 GMT).
"Today, if we take into account 56 departments, for six weeks of curfew, we [will] have an overall cost of two billion euros, additional two billion euros," Le Maire said.
Earlier in October, French Prime Minister Jean Castex ordered that the curfew must come into effect in 38 new departments on Friday. According to Le Maire, the authorities have prepared a solidarity fund of nine billion euros for businesses affected by the pandemic. Given that six billion have already been spent, the fund will distribute about three billion euros to support companies for the rest of the year and early 2021.
The minister also warned that the GDP would likely to decline from October-December 2020, despite "a very strong rebound in the third quarter". However, he said, the French economy will recover and come back to its pre-crisis level in 2022.
To date, France has registered 1,041,991 COVID-19 cases, the world's sixth highest number, with the death toll at 34, 237.
