‘Then we will see, when the time comes,’ the president noted at a meeting with residents of the northern town of Pont-Sainte-Marie, regarding the relaxation of restrictions on Wednesday, with the reopening of restaurants, cultural sites and non-essential stores.

Macron commented that he is also ‘fed up’ with using the facemask, but insisted on the importance of maintaining it next month, due to a still worrying situation.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health confirmed 19,000 new Covid-19 cases and 141 deaths, still high figures, while 21,347 people are in hospitals and 3,862 patients are in intensive care units, a scenario of significant progress, which justifies the gradual relaxation of restrictions.

We must not be careless or go too fast, noted Macron, who in April presented a four-stage plan for a gradual return to normality, the second of which was activated on Wednesday.

In addition, Government Spokesperson Gabriel Attal mentioned in the last hours the possibility of a summer without facemasks in France, which he conditioned on the continuity of progress in the indicators of the fight against the pandemic.

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