Macron warns of 'difficult weeks' due to COVID in New Year's address

The next few weeks will be difficult for France due to a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases. French President Emmanuel Macron announced this in his New Year's address, REUTERS reports.

“The coming weeks will be difficult, we all know that,” the French president said. This growth can be dealt with, he said, if people “behave responsibly.” “We will get through this problem if we follow the same principles as on the first day of the pandemic,” Macron added.

In France, 174,296 new cases of coronavirus were recorded on December 29, according to data from the World HEALTH Organization. 281 people died per day. The total number of cases exceeded 9 million, deaths - 120 thousand.