'Nothing can erase the memory': French govt condemns vandalism at site of Nazi massacre

On August 22, French government officials said that they would want to track down people responsible for defacing a memorial of the victims of a Nazi massacre during World War Two. The site is situated at the village of Oradour-sur-Glane near the western city of Limoges. It honours the hundreds of people who were killed in June 1944 by an SS division.

Reports suggest that on the memorial, the word “martyr” was crossed out, with “menteur” or “liar” plastered next to it. French President Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter as he paid tribute to the martyrs. Prime Minister Jean Castex reportedly said that everything would be done to bring those behind the “disgraceful acts” to justice.

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France's health minister on COVID-19

Currently, France has been in the grip of the novel coronavirus. In a recent development, France's health minister said in an interview with a leading state daily Journal Du Dimanche that coronavirus is infecting the population under 40 four more times than the population over the age of 65. While the COVID-19 affected the elderly and more vulnerable, it was mainly the younger population that was now circulating the virus, Olivier Veran said. The higher number of cases in France isn’t solely due to “increased testing” but infections were on the rise among the youngsters, he said, adding, that France is in a “risky situation”. 

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According to a news agency report, Veran explained about the European dynamic in dealing with the coronavirus surge that does not aim to impose a total lockdown. He emphasized on the localized measures and other health safety protocols in case France witnessed a sudden infection spike. According to reports, France has a total number of 238,002 cases with 84,950 casualities, as per August 23. 

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Also Read: France Sticks To School Openings Despite Jump In Infections

(Image Credits: AP)