French officials lay out new virus restrictions

French Prime Minister Jean Castex and other government ministers laid out a string of new rules a day after president Emmanuel Macron announced a curfew in in nine cities across the country, including Paris, in order to slow the virus spread.

"It means that at 9pm everybody will have to be home and that, unless exception, all places such as shops and premises receiving public will be closed" Jean Castex said.

Castex also announced that the entire country will be placed under a "health state of emergency".

The government will ban all weddings and parties in public places for the next month, all across France.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 12,000 police officers would be deployed between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. every night to enforce the new curfew coming into effect Friday night for the next month.

The prime minister did not directly comment on Thursday's police searches of the offices of Health Minister Olivier Veran and other top officials, as part of investigations into the French government's handling of the pandemic.

But Castex said that he had "full confidence" in Veran and that he "benefits from the presumption of innocence".

France reported 22,591 new infections Wednesday, and has registered 33,037 virus-related deaths, among the highest tolls in Europe.