French lockdown helped slow coronavirus but too soon to lift it, PM says

France’s lockdown, in place for more than three weeks, has helped contain the spread of the new coronavirus but the time to lift the restrictions has not yet come, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Wednesday.

Philippe told parliament the lockdown would “last”, again suggesting it may be extended beyond its current April 15 end date. COVID-19 has killed more than 10,000 people in France.

“The expansion (of the disease) is slowing so much that we might soon reach a flattening of the curve (…) and that’s most certainly due to the lockdown’s effect”, he said, but added: