French government says second coronavirus wave threatens but life must go on

France will not let its guard down against a still-virulent coronavirus but life must return to some kind of normality, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as a senior adviser to the government warned of a second wave in November.

Prime Minister Jean Castex said his government wanted to ensure the French could return to school, get back to work and enjoy a social life “as normally as possible”.

Face masks would remain central to the government’s strategy after a surge in the rate of coronavirus infections in recent weeks, he said.

“The worst thing of all would be that we sink because we did not get things moving amid a social and economic crisis,” Castex told France Inter radio.