Tighter curfew to dampen holiday spirit in France

New Year's Eve won't be festive in France and Christmas won't be as merry as many hoped, it was announced Thursday by the French Prime Minister.Speaking in Paris, Jean Castex confirmed a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus won't be lifted, and the curfew will be stricter starting December 15 for at least three weeks.Restaurants, bars, theatres and other venues must stay closed during that time, and people must be home by 8 pm.

With France hovering above 10,000 confirmed cases a day, "the game is far from being won," Castex said at a news conference.Authorities had set a goal of 5,000 cases daily to lift France's second lockdown, in place since the end of October and lighter than the one during the first wave. The figures plunged from 50,000 daily cases, but authorities said it would be irresponsible to let go at the end of the year.

France's health agency counted 13,750 cases in the last 24 hours, and according to Health Minister Olivier Veran one person was placed in an intensive care unit every 7 minutes over the last 24 hours. Officials have not changed their recommendation for Christmas or New Year's festivities, saying there should be no more than six adults in a home for end-of-the-year festivities.

The curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be strictly controlled.According to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, about 100,000 police will be on the streets on December 31, to ensure security because of France's high terror threat and to watch out for people breaking the curfew.

(Image Credit: AP)