The first five confirmed cases were all individuals who had recently arrived from China. The first lockdown period began on 17 March and ended on 11 May From August , there was an increase in the rate of infection and on 10 October , France set a record number of new infections in a hour period in Europe with 26, recorded. The increase caused France to enter a second nationwide lockdown on 28 October On 31 March , Macron announced a third national lockdown which commenced on 3 April and which was mandated for all of April ; measures included the closure of non-essential shops, the suspension of school attendance, a ban on domestic travel and a nationwide curfew from 7pm-6am.
In February , it was reported that no tests are required to enter the country, and children under the age of 12 are free from vaccination requirements.
The pandemic occurred following a series of national protests , which were followed by a strike against pension reform which had been proposed by President Emmanuel Macron in his election manifesto. On 27 December , a man was admitted to Avicenne Hospital and tested for influenza, which came back as negative.
Cohen said it was too early to know if the man had been France's "patient zero". On 23 January , the French Minister of Health 's office published an analysis of the situation, [ 29 ] and on the same day Air France suspended its flights from and to Wuhan , and reduced the frequency of its flights from and to Beijing and Shanghai. The patient, a year-old French citizen from China, who arrived in France on 22 January , was hospitalised at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux. He was placed in isolation, and the authorities tried to trace people who had been in contact with him.
On 26 January , Buzyn declared that the French government had millions of masks which could be distributed to the population if necessary. On 30 January , a Paris doctor who had come into contact with a Chinese tourist whose infection was confirmed upon her return to China was confirmed positive for COVID On 31 January , Marie Fontanel, the President counselor for solidarity and health, quit her job to help her husband in the coming municipal elections.
