France Faces Tough COVID Month, With Ski Lifts and Restaurants Set to Stay Shut

France Faces Tough COVID Month, With Ski Lifts and Restaurants Set to Stay Shut
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France Faces Tough COVID Month, With Ski Lifts and Restaurants Set to Stay Shut

France Faces Tough COVID Month, With Ski Lifts and Restaurants Set to Stay Shut

A more infectious coronavirus variant is expected to spread rapidly through France in the coming month, hospital chiefs said on Wednesday, raising fears of another lockdown as hopes faded that ski lifts and restaurants could reopen soon.

A government source told Reuters that ski lifts would most likely remain closed until the end of the season. Tourists can visit French resorts but the lifts have not run since the beginning of the season.

The source also said restaurants, closed apart from limited takeaway services since the end of October, will probably not reopen as planned on Feb. 1, with French media saying they would remain shut until early April.

Karine Lacombe, head of infectious diseases at Paris' Saint Antoine hospital, and Martin Hirsch, director general of the Paris hospitals system, both warned of the extra pressures facing the French healthcare system over the next month.

The two previous lockdowns last year were aimed at preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.

"We know this variant spreads much more quickly and, above all, it is more infectious. So, yes, we think that it will change the dynamic of the pandemic in the weeks to come," Lacombe told BFM TV.

The spread of this variant, first detected in England, has prompted Britain, Germany and Ireland to reimpose lockdowns.

France has stopped short such a measure for now - opting instead for a national 6 p.m. curfew - but members of the government have warned it is not off the table.

COVID-19 figures for Jan. 19 showed the seven-day moving average of new infections, which averages out daily data reporting irregularities, had increased to 18,820, the highest since Nov. 23.

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care has now gone up for 10 consecutive days, to 2,839, a run not seen since early November, when France had just entered its second lockdown.

"We fear it will be extremely tough, especially in March. On a local level ... when the number of admissions in ICU units will ramp up, we probably will need more restrictive measures than the curfew," Lacombe said.

"We must remain alert and act as soon as we spot a deterioration of the indicators."



Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
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Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO arrived Thursday in Brussels, where the alliance’s top diplomats are hoping they’ll shed light on US security plans in Europe.

European allies and Canada are deeply concerned by President Donald Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO as a threat, as the US works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, The Associated Press said.

Recent White House comments and insults directed at NATO allies Canada and Denmark — as well as the military alliance itself — have raised alarm and confusion, especially with new US tariffs targeting US friends and foes alike.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned last month that US security priorities lie elsewhere — in Asia and on the US's own borders — the Europeans have waited to learn how big a military drawdown in Europe could be and how fast it may happen.

In Europe and Canada, governments are working on “burden shifting” plans to take over more of the load, while trying to ensure that no security vacuum is created if US troops and equipment are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to hear from Rubio what the Trump administration’s intentions are and hope to secure some kind of roadmap that lays out what will happen next and when, so they can synchronize planning and use European forces to plug any gaps.

In a statement, newly confirmed US ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO will be stronger and more effective than ever before, and I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity.”

But he added: “NATO’s vitality rests on every ally doing their fair share.”

Whitaker affirmed the US commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee, which says that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all, but that his brief would also be to encourage Europe to lead on “peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

The statement said allies should demonstrate that NATO takes seriously threats from China.