france24--2020-05-08--Pandemic disarmament: Why France was ready for Covid-19 a decade too soon

France 's stock of face masks declined from a high of 2.2 billion a decade ago to just over 100 million on the eve of the Covid-19 crisis .
An investigation by French daily Le Monde has uncovered the extraordinary chain of events that led successive French governments to build an ambitious pandemic response strategy and then dismantle it almost entirely , leaving the country dangerously exposed to the Covid-19 disease .
In late 2004 , the cardiologist-turned-politician Philippe Douste-Blazy , then France ’ s health minister , unveiled a pandemic response plan at a cabinet meeting before an audience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ministerial colleagues .
The plan detailed a host of drastic measures to be implemented in the event of an epidemic threatening France .
They included the closure of national borders , limits on people ’ s movement , a ban on gatherings , sports and cultural events , the implementation of social distancing rules , and the nationwide distribution of masks – surgical , for the public , and the more protective FFP2 type , for health workers .
“ In a nutshell , the plan contained everything the current French government scrambled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurry and without the equipment , in mid-March 2020 , ” write journalists Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme in a lengthy , five-part reconstruction of France ’ s pandemic “ disarmament ” , published by Le Monde this week .
The extraordinary rise and fall of pandemic planning in France was rooted in the troubled dawn of the new century , when Western nations obsessed with the threat of terrorism , and the hunt for elusive weapons of mass destruction , suddenly woke up to the risk of deadly epidemics .
First came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2002 and escalating the next year , followed by an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in southeast Asia in 2004 .
Later that year , the deadly chikungunya disease spread rapidly in France ’ s overseas territories , eventually threatening the mainland .
“ Asian countries were deeply shaken by SARS , ” says Pierre-Yves Geoffard , a professor of health economics at the Paris School of Economics ( PSE ) , in an interview with FRANCE 24 .
“ They were lucky in the end as the virus eventually disappeared .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ guard , making sure instead that they would be ready for the next one.
” Amid the many unknowns of pandemic planning , Geoffard says health strategists in Asian countries based their preparations on two certitudes : that further pandemics were bound to occur and that no-one could anticipate their shape or form .
“ This implies being capable of reacting quickly to outbreaks of which very little is known in the beginning , ” he says .
“ In this respect , the model to follow is Taiwan ’ s response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tracing cases – but it only works if you do it right away.
” Geoffard says the French government tried to follow the same model in its initial strategy against the coronavirus .
But by then it was already too late , the virus having spread far and wide .
“ Countries react to crises and learn that speed is of the essence , but then their memory fades , ” he says .
It would not be the only lesson unlearnt by France ’ s decision makers .
Back in 2005 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about “ our modern Western societies ’ tendency to forget ” during an audition before French senators .
The SARS epidemic , the health minister said , “ has proven to what extent the sudden occurence of an unknown infection – I insist on the word unknown – capable of spreading across the planet thanks to modern communication networks , can disseminate fear , and destabilise the most developed societies and health systems.
” Weeks later , the senators who auditioned Douste-Blazy released a report detailing their recommendations to prepare the country for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stressed the need to constitute stocks of masks for both health workers and the general public , noting that surgical masks would offer only limited protection and should therefore be replaced by more protective gear .
This “ would certainly entail a high cost , but would help limit the country ’ s paralysis , ” they wrote , adding : “ In this light , the cost must be put into perspective.
” Alarmed by another classified report , exhumed by Le Monde ’ s investigators , which warned that France was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s successor at the health ministry , Xavier Bertrand , set off on a tour of East Asian countries in late 2005 to learn from their strategies .
Calling in Beijing , he asked his Chinese counterpart whether France could order masks from China in the event of a crisis .
Though affirmative , the answer cautioned that “ Chinese demands would naturally come first ” should the country need masks too .
Convinced of the need to strengthen France ’ s strategic independence , Bertrand and his successors would embark on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic-proof and self-reliant – a strategy that spanned the final years of Jacques Chirac ’ s presidency and the start of Nicolas Sarkozy 's tenure .
A cornerstone of the new strategy was the establishment of a national mask-production capacity , overseen and generously funded by a new entity , known as the Eprus , modelled on the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention ( CDC ) .
At the end of 2006 , France could boast of a stock of 600 million FFP2 masks , making it one of the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the World Health Organization .
By May 2009 , a Senate report said the Eprus stock had reached more than 720 million units , supplemented by more than a billion surgical masks .
It was just as well , because a new deadly epidemic , this one coming from Mexico , was about to test the arsenal ’ s worth .
The French government ’ s zealous response to the H1N1 influenza marked the climax of the precautionary approach championed by Douste-Blazy and his successors .
But in hindsight , it also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influenza spread beyond Mexico in the summer of 2009 , the new health minister , Roseline Bachelot , decided to further ramp up the production of masks , leading to a peak of 2.2 billion units ( surgical and FFP2 ) by the end of the year .
Under government guidelines , businesses were advised to constitute stocks of protective gear , including the high-protection FFP2 masks for workers “ in close contact with members of the public ” .
Kits containing surgical masks and antiviral treatments were distributed freely in pharmacies across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 94 million vaccine doses and requisitioned gymnasiums for its nationwide vaccination campaign , bypassing doctors .
But the health crisis failed to materialise , and when state auditors , politicians and the media started to delve into the cost of the operation , Bachelot was lambasted for splashing out a whopping one billion euros in taxpayers ’ money – part of it to reimburse pharmaceutical labs – on a virus that killed “ only ” 342 people in France .
“ When dealing with epidemics , one is easely accused after the facts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Geoffard of the Paris School of Economics .
“ Either one does too much prevention and little happens , or one does too little and everything goes wrong.
” According to Geoffard , the H1N1 backlash was “ one of the key reasons it later became impossible to justify maintaining a highly costly prevention policy.
” Reflecting on her public castigation , Bachelot told Le Monde that the debacle had “ led to a general disarmament and decrediblised politicians.
” She added : “ The public decided we had overreacted .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing too much came to dwarf that of doing too little.
” Writing in the same paper in late March of this year , the renowned health economist Claude Le Pen , who would die of cancer only weeks later , said Bachelot ’ s actions had instilled among high-ranking civil servants “ a sense that the government had overestimated the crisis and , ultimately , squandered public funds for the benefit of pharmaceutical laboratories ” .
Hoping to deflect responsibility for the “ disarmament ” that left France so dangerously exposed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s successors have blamed those civil servants – the “ deep state ” – and each other for gradually stripping France of its defences .
After Bachelot ’ s demotion to a junior cabinet role in late 2010 , Bertrand was put back in the saddle .
But the context had changed dramatically since his first stint as health minister .
These were the scandal-plagued twilight years of Sarkozy ’ s presidency .
On top of pandemic fatigue , Bertrand had to grapple with stringent belt-tightening measures amid a global economic downturn and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In late 2011 , a government directive signalled a change of doctrine , splitting the state ’ s reserves of protective gear into two : a “ strategic ” stock of surgical masks for the general public , held by the state , and a “ tactical ” stock of FFP2 masks for health workers , to be held and replenished by regional health authorities and individual hospitals .
The change of direction was cemented by subsequent reforms implemented under the Socialist administration that came to power in 2012 .
They effectively devolved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to institutions focused on short-term-imperatives and struggling with budget cuts – with the effect that France ’ s precious FFP2 reserves expired and were never replaced .
“ In the space of just two years , the state had passed on the baton , in the name of decentralisation and , above all , budgetary constraint , ” write Le Monde ’ s Davet and Lhomme .
As for the Eprus , it was incorporated and diluted in a much larger structure , known as Santé publique France , reversing a decade-long policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not the only country to have rolled back or “ forgotten ” its pandemic response plans along the way .
An investigation by British daily The Times found that preparations for a pandemic had been a top priority of the UK government for a decade after the September 11 attacks , before falling victim to austerity cuts .
“ We were the envy of the world , ” an unnamed source in the prime minister ’ s office told the newspaper .
“ But pandemic planning became a casualty of the austerity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The source added that preparations for a no-deal Brexit “ sucked all the blood out of pandemic planning ” .
Likewise , years of neglect sucked the blood out of France ’ s once ambitious pandemic strategy , leaving the state largely powerless to protect its citizens from the coronavirus .
On March 17 of this year , the day France began a two-month nationwide lockdown , former health minister Agnès Buzyn spoke candidly about the extraordinary twist that had seen her plucked out of the ministry a month earlier , despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Emmanuel Macron ’ s party in Paris mayoral elections .
“ I knew the tsunami wave was coming for us , ” she said , referring to the looming pandemic .
“ We should have stopped the elections , it was a travesty.
” Addressing senators two days later , Buzyn ’ s successor as health minister , Olivier Véran , summed up the bewildering haemorrhage of equipment that had left France so desperately exposed .
“ In 2010 , the state had a stock of one billion surgical masks , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over at the ministry , there were 150 million.
” As he spoke , and in the months preceding the crisis , millions of masks were simply being torched , based on the assumption that they had expired or were ineffective .
According to French daily Libération , a Belgian company tasked with testing a sample of the masks had concluded that they no longer met certain standards .
However , subsequent tests carried out on masks that were saved from the bonfire at the last minute showed that they were perfectly usable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that contradictory messages on the utility of masks – with the government at one point arguing that they were of no use to the general public – had helped seal the fate of the discarded stock .
The result of this stunning fiasco has been amply documented : a desperate shortage of protection for even frontline workers , a frantic – and costly – race to fly in masks from China , and a belated effort to revive a national production capacity that was abandoned in recent years .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when we had it all ready as early as 2004 , ” a dejected Douste-Blazy told Le Monde , reflecting on France ’ s Covid-19 disaster .
He added : “ This must be one of the most mind-blowing examples of how the French administration can produce such a plan and then fail to use it !
”

An investigation by French daily Le Monde has uncovered the extraordinary chain of events that led successive French governments to build an ambitious pandemic response strategy and then dismantle it almost entirely, leaving the country dangerously exposed to the Covid-19 disease.
France's stock of face masks declined from a high of 2.2 billion a decade ago to just over 100 million on the eve of the Covid-19 crisis.
Advertising Read more
In late 2004, the cardiologist-turned-politician Philippe Douste-Blazy, then France’s health minister, unveiled a pandemic response plan at a cabinet meeting before an audience of puzzled, distracted and somewhat amused ministerial colleagues.
The plan detailed a host of drastic measures to be implemented in the event of an epidemic threatening France. They included the closure of national borders, limits on people’s movement, a ban on gatherings, sports and cultural events, the implementation of social distancing rules, and the nationwide distribution of masks – surgical, for the public, and the more protective FFP2 type, for health workers.
“In a nutshell, the plan contained everything the current French government scrambled to put in place, in a hurry and without the equipment, in mid-March 2020,” write journalists Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme in a lengthy, five-part reconstruction of France’s pandemic “disarmament”, published by Le Monde this week.
The extraordinary rise and fall of pandemic planning in France was rooted in the troubled dawn of the new century, when Western nations obsessed with the threat of terrorism, and the hunt for elusive weapons of mass destruction, suddenly woke up to the risk of deadly epidemics.
First came the fearsome SARS, emerging in China in 2002 and escalating the next year, followed by an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in southeast Asia in 2004. Later that year, the deadly chikungunya disease spread rapidly in France’s overseas territories, eventually threatening the mainland.
“Asian countries were deeply shaken by SARS,” says Pierre-Yves Geoffard, a professor of health economics at the Paris School of Economics (PSE), in an interview with FRANCE 24. “They were lucky in the end as the virus eventually disappeared. But they didn’t lower their guard, making sure instead that they would be ready for the next one.”
Amid the many unknowns of pandemic planning, Geoffard says health strategists in Asian countries based their preparations on two certitudes: that further pandemics were bound to occur and that no-one could anticipate their shape or form.
“This implies being capable of reacting quickly to outbreaks of which very little is known in the beginning,” he says. “In this respect, the model to follow is Taiwan’s response to the present crisis: detecting, isolating and tracing cases – but it only works if you do it right away.”
Geoffard says the French government tried to follow the same model in its initial strategy against the coronavirus. But by then it was already too late, the virus having spread far and wide.
“Countries react to crises and learn that speed is of the essence, but then their memory fades,” he says. It would not be the only lesson unlearnt by France’s decision makers.
French independence
Back in 2005, Douste-Blazy had given a prescient warning about “our modern Western societies’ tendency to forget” during an audition before French senators.
The SARS epidemic, the health minister said, “has proven to what extent the sudden occurence of an unknown infection – I insist on the word unknown – capable of spreading across the planet thanks to modern communication networks, can disseminate fear, and destabilise the most developed societies and health systems.”
Weeks later, the senators who auditioned Douste-Blazy released a report detailing their recommendations to prepare the country for future outbreaks. In particular, they stressed the need to constitute stocks of masks for both health workers and the general public, noting that surgical masks would offer only limited protection and should therefore be replaced by more protective gear.
This “would certainly entail a high cost, but would help limit the country’s paralysis,” they wrote, adding: “In this light, the cost must be put into perspective.”
Alarmed by another classified report, exhumed by Le Monde’s investigators, which warned that France was woefully unprepared for a pandemic, Douste-Blazy’s successor at the health ministry, Xavier Bertrand, set off on a tour of East Asian countries in late 2005 to learn from their strategies. Calling in Beijing, he asked his Chinese counterpart whether France could order masks from China in the event of a crisis. Though affirmative, the answer cautioned that “Chinese demands would naturally come first” should the country need masks too.
Convinced of the need to strengthen France’s strategic independence, Bertrand and his successors would embark on a vast effort to make the country pandemic-proof and self-reliant – a strategy that spanned the final years of Jacques Chirac’s presidency and the start of Nicolas Sarkozy's tenure.
A cornerstone of the new strategy was the establishment of a national mask-production capacity, overseen and generously funded by a new entity, known as the Eprus, modelled on the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC).
At the end of 2006, France could boast of a stock of 600 million FFP2 masks, making it one of the world’s best prepared countries, according to the World Health Organization. By May 2009, a Senate report said the Eprus stock had reached more than 720 million units, supplemented by more than a billion surgical masks.
It was just as well, because a new deadly epidemic, this one coming from Mexico, was about to test the arsenal’s worth.
Crying wolf
The French government’s zealous response to the H1N1 influenza marked the climax of the precautionary approach championed by Douste-Blazy and his successors. But in hindsight, it also sounded its death knell.
As the influenza spread beyond Mexico in the summer of 2009, the new health minister, Roseline Bachelot, decided to further ramp up the production of masks, leading to a peak of 2.2 billion units (surgical and FFP2) by the end of the year. Under government guidelines, businesses were advised to constitute stocks of protective gear, including the high-protection FFP2 masks for workers “in close contact with members of the public”. Kits containing surgical masks and antiviral treatments were distributed freely in pharmacies across France.
Controversially, the government ordered 94 million vaccine doses and requisitioned gymnasiums for its nationwide vaccination campaign, bypassing doctors.
But the health crisis failed to materialise, and when state auditors, politicians and the media started to delve into the cost of the operation, Bachelot was lambasted for splashing out a whopping one billion euros in taxpayers’ money – part of it to reimburse pharmaceutical labs – on a virus that killed “only” 342 people in France.
“When dealing with epidemics, one is easely accused after the facts of having botched the response,” says Geoffard of the Paris School of Economics. “Either one does too much prevention and little happens, or one does too little and everything goes wrong.”
According to Geoffard, the H1N1 backlash was “one of the key reasons it later became impossible to justify maintaining a highly costly prevention policy.”
Reflecting on her public castigation, Bachelot told Le Monde that the debacle had “led to a general disarmament and decrediblised politicians.” She added: “The public decided we had overreacted. And for us politicians, the risk of doing too much came to dwarf that of doing too little.”
Former Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot talks to the press after being vaccinated for the H1N1 influenza on November 12, 2009. © Bertrand Guay, AFP
Writing in the same paper in late March of this year, the renowned health economist Claude Le Pen, who would die of cancer only weeks later, said Bachelot’s actions had instilled among high-ranking civil servants “a sense that the government had overestimated the crisis and, ultimately, squandered public funds for the benefit of pharmaceutical laboratories”.
Hoping to deflect responsibility for the “disarmament” that left France so dangerously exposed a decade later, the health minister’s successors have blamed those civil servants – the “deep state” – and each other for gradually stripping France of its defences.
After Bachelot’s demotion to a junior cabinet role in late 2010, Bertrand was put back in the saddle. But the context had changed dramatically since his first stint as health minister. These were the scandal-plagued twilight years of Sarkozy’s presidency. On top of pandemic fatigue, Bertrand had to grapple with stringent belt-tightening measures amid a global economic downturn and a European "debt crisis".
In late 2011, a government directive signalled a change of doctrine, splitting the state’s reserves of protective gear into two: a “strategic” stock of surgical masks for the general public, held by the state, and a “tactical” stock of FFP2 masks for health workers, to be held and replenished by regional health authorities and individual hospitals.
The change of direction was cemented by subsequent reforms implemented under the Socialist administration that came to power in 2012. They effectively devolved the management of “tactical” reserves to institutions focused on short-term-imperatives and struggling with budget cuts – with the effect that France’s precious FFP2 reserves expired and were never replaced.
“In the space of just two years, the state had passed on the baton, in the name of decentralisation and, above all, budgetary constraint,” write Le Monde’s Davet and Lhomme. As for the Eprus, it was incorporated and diluted in a much larger structure, known as Santé publique France, reversing a decade-long policy modelled on the American CDC.
A bonfire of masks
France is not the only country to have rolled back or “forgotten” its pandemic response plans along the way.
An investigation by British daily The Times found that preparations for a pandemic had been a top priority of the UK government for a decade after the September 11 attacks, before falling victim to austerity cuts.
“We were the envy of the world,” an unnamed source in the prime minister’s office told the newspaper. “But pandemic planning became a casualty of the austerity years when there were more pressing needs.” The source added that preparations for a no-deal Brexit “sucked all the blood out of pandemic planning”.
Likewise, years of neglect sucked the blood out of France’s once ambitious pandemic strategy, leaving the state largely powerless to protect its citizens from the coronavirus.
On March 17 of this year, the day France began a two-month nationwide lockdown, former health minister Agnès Buzyn spoke candidly about the extraordinary twist that had seen her plucked out of the ministry a month earlier, despite the worsening coronavirus outbreak, to lead President Emmanuel Macron’s party in Paris mayoral elections.
“I knew the tsunami wave was coming for us,” she said, referring to the looming pandemic. “We should have stopped the elections, it was a travesty.”
Addressing senators two days later, Buzyn’s successor as health minister, Olivier Véran, summed up the bewildering haemorrhage of equipment that had left France so desperately exposed.
“In 2010, the state had a stock of one billion surgical masks,” he said. “When I took over at the ministry, there were 150 million.”
As he spoke, and in the months preceding the crisis, millions of masks were simply being torched, based on the assumption that they had expired or were ineffective.
According to French daily Libération, a Belgian company tasked with testing a sample of the masks had concluded that they no longer met certain standards. However, subsequent tests carried out on masks that were saved from the bonfire at the last minute showed that they were perfectly usable.
Officials interviewed by Le Monde suggested that contradictory messages on the utility of masks – with the government at one point arguing that they were of no use to the general public – had helped seal the fate of the discarded stock.
The result of this stunning fiasco has been amply documented: a desperate shortage of protection for even frontline workers, a frantic – and costly – race to fly in masks from China, and a belated effort to revive a national production capacity that was abandoned in recent years.
“It’s baffling that nothing at all was anticipated, when we had it all ready as early as 2004,” a dejected Douste-Blazy told Le Monde, reflecting on France’s Covid-19 disaster.
He added: “This must be one of the most mind-blowing examples of how the French administration can produce such a plan and then fail to use it!”
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france24--2020-05-08--WFP head warns Covid-19 pandemic could provoke 'famines of biblical proportions'

The UN 's World Food Programme is warning of potential famines of `` biblical proportions '' as the Covid-19 pandemic affects countries in an already dire situation .
In an interview with FRANCE 24 , the United Nation 's WFP Executive Director David Beasley said he was especially worried about a breakdown in the supply chain that allows his agency to provide food to dozens of millions of people around the globe .
WFP head David Beasley expressed confidence that donor nations would respond to a $ 4.7 billion fundraising call launched this week by the UN to help those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many rich countries .
He also stressed that top Trump administration officials and key US congressional leaders had reassured him that they understood the need to maintain funding for the food emergency .
However , he called on `` the world 's billionaires '' to do more , saying , `` It 's time for you to step up in a way you 've never stepped up before ; people are in need ... this is a one-time phenomenon and we need your help . ''
However , he warned that the situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worse in the coming weeks , in large part because of the economic collapse provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic .
`` Almost a quarter of a billion people will be marching towards starvation because of the economic deterioration from Covid , wars , conflicts ...
It is a perfect storm .
I do wish I were exaggerating , but we are really looking at what could be famines of biblical proportions in multiple countries , and especially in Africa , '' Beasley told FRANCE 24 's Marc Perelman .

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) is warning of potential famines of "biblical proportions" as the Covid-19 pandemic affects countries in an already dire situation. In an interview with FRANCE 24, the United Nation's WFP Executive Director David Beasley said he was especially worried about a breakdown in the supply chain that allows his agency to provide food to dozens of millions of people around the globe.
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WFP head David Beasley expressed confidence that donor nations would respond to a $4.7 billion fundraising call launched this week by the UN to help those in need, despite the recession hitting many rich countries. He also stressed that top Trump administration officials and key US congressional leaders had reassured him that they understood the need to maintain funding for the food emergency.
However, he called on "the world's billionaires" to do more, saying, "It's time for you to step up in a way you've never stepped up before; people are in need ... this is a one-time phenomenon and we need your help."
He warned that the situation in Africa was likely to become much worse in the coming weeks, in large part because of the economic collapse provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic. "Almost a quarter of a billion people will be marching towards starvation because of the economic deterioration from Covid, wars, conflicts... It is a perfect storm. I do wish I were exaggerating, but we are really looking at what could be famines of biblical proportions in multiple countries, and especially in Africa," Beasley told FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman.
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france24--2020-05-08--Covid-19: Daily death toll up in France as hospitalisations continue to fall

A nurse from the Covid-19 unit at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris , France , April 27 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ have died from coronavirus infection in France rose 243 to 26,230 on Friday , a @ @ @ @ @ the previous day when it stood at 178 .
The French Health Ministry said in @ @ @ @ @ of people in intensive care units - a key measure of a health system 's @ @ @ @ @ epidemic - fell by 93 or 3 % to 2,868 , well below half the @ @ @ @ @ April 8 .
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus also fell again to @ @ @ @ @ an uninterrupted three-week fall and down 30 % from an April 14 peak of 32,292 @ @ @ @ @ its almost two-months old national lockdown from Monday .

The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France rose 243 to 26,230 on Friday, a higher daily death toll than the previous day when it stood at 178.
A nurse from the Covid-19 unit at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris, France, April 27, 2020.
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The French Health Ministry said in a statement that the number of people in intensive care units - a key measure of a health system's ability to deal with the epidemic - fell by 93 or 3% to 2,868, well below half the peak of 7,148 seen on April 8.
The number of people in hospital with coronavirus also fell again to 22,724 from 23,208, continuing an uninterrupted three-week fall and down 30% from an April 14 peak of 32,292.
France will start lifting its almost two-months old national lockdown from Monday.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-05-08--How does Coronavirus affect children?

How does Coronavirus affect children?

Children very rarely get seriously ill with Covid-19 .
With parents and policymakers agonising over when to reopen schools as lockdowns ease , scientists are still struggling to find out how the new coronavirus affects children .
While youngsters can become infected with the new coronavirus , very few have died or contracted serious symptoms .
But could they still spread contagion ?
Here is what we know so far .
This is one of the few questions where there is broad agreement .
Only a tiny proportion of children appear to have become seriously ill with COVID-19 .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much do children get COVID-19 ; how badly does it affect them ; and do they spread it to others ? ''
said Russell Viner , President of Britain 's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health .
`` We only have good data about the second of these . ''
Specialists writing for the British pediatric website Do n't Forget The Bubbles ( DFTB ) said in a recent roundup of international research that only around one percent of critical cases involved children , while `` deaths remain extremely rare '' .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer is yes .
`` Research indicates that children and adolescents are just as likely to become infected as any other age group and can spread the disease , '' says the World Health Organization .
But this is not reflected in global official data about the virus , with many countries largely focusing their COVID-19 testing on those who have gone to hospital with severe symptoms .
France 's health agency , which has amalgamated data from a host of international studies , said pediatric cases represent between one and five percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said this is because children catch the virus , but generally exhibit only `` mild '' symptoms -- or no symptoms at all -- meaning they go uncounted .
But other experts believe that children , especially those under the age of 10 , might not be getting infected as much in the first place .
`` It appears fairly convincing that children are less likely to acquire the infection than adults , by a significant amount , '' said specialists Alasdair Munro and Damian Roland of DFTB .
Their conclusions were based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looked at how the disease spread and to whom .
They also assessed data from places that have carried out mass community-wide testing -- South Korea , Iceland and the Italian principality of Vo -- all of which found that the proportion of infected children was far smaller than adults .
But are they silent vectors ?
This is the area of greatest uncertainty .
Initially researchers believed they could be spreading the disease , drawing comparisons with other viruses like the flu where children help accelerate infections .
But recent studies on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less likely to transmit the virus .
In one incident , a nine-year-old was among 12 people infected in a super-spreading event at a chalet in the Haute-Savoie region of France , after a British man returned from Singapore and went on a ski holiday .
A study of the incident -- one of the first major clusters of infection in France -- showed that the child , who only displayed mild symptoms , came into contact with 172 people while sick .
None of them contracted COVID-19 , not even the youngster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did transmit other winter viruses , including the flu .
Children could be less infectious because they do not have as many symptoms and do not cough , French expert Arnaud Fontanet told a parliamentary hearing last week .
But a German study last month led by virologist Christian Drosten , an adviser to Angela Merkel , concluded that children had a viral load comparable to that of adults .
They `` could be as contagious '' , it added .
Other scientists , including Munro , have disputed both the methodology of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the data they said it might even be possible to draw the opposite conclusion -- that age and viral load are correlated .
Even so , we can not say for sure that a higher viral load makes a person more infectious .
In recent weeks , a spate of cases of children affected by an inflammatory illness resembling a rare condition called Kawasaki disease has caused alarm .
Symptoms are high fever , abdominal pain , rash and swollen glands .
If untreated , patients can suffer heart failure , but those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A few dozen cases have been reported in New York , France , Britain , Italy and Spain , and while no link has been formally established to the new coronavirus , scientists believe it could be connected .
In an article published this week in the medical journal The Lancet , British doctors describing eight cases observed in London said it could be `` a new phenomenon '' affecting previously-asymptomatic children with the coronavirus `` manifesting as a hyperinflammatory syndrome '' .
Reports of the illness came just as several countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kindling fears among parents .
But experts say the cases are too rare to affect policy decisions .
On this there is much disagreement .
Authorities in Italy , which has the oldest teachers of OECD nations with almost 60 percent aged over 50 , have expressed concern that reopening schools would risk infecting staff and reigniting the epidemic .
But many other countries , including Germany , Denmark and France , have prioritised reopening schools as they unwind lockdown measures .
In France , scientific estimates that it would be better to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by concerns about other social issues , particularly those facing children from troubled families .
`` School can be a haven of peace , '' explained Jean-Francois Delfraissy , who leads the scientific committee advising the government .
Other experts argue that the benefits of continuing education far outweigh the risks .
In a column published this week in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood , Munro and British infectious disease specialist Saul Faust called on governments to allow children to resume lessons , regardless of underlying health conditions , and conduct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Children are not COVID-19 super-spreaders : time to go back to school , '' they said .

With parents and policymakers agonising over when to reopen schools as lockdowns ease, scientists are still struggling to find out how the new coronavirus affects children.
Children very rarely get seriously ill with Covid-19.
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While youngsters can become infected with the new coronavirus, very few have died or contracted serious symptoms. But could they still spread contagion? Here is what we know so far.
Are children at risk?
This is one of the few questions where there is broad agreement. Only a tiny proportion of children appear to have become seriously ill with COVID-19.
"There are three key questions: How much do children get COVID-19; how badly does it affect them; and do they spread it to others?" said Russell Viner, President of Britain's Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
"We only have good data about the second of these."
Specialists writing for the British pediatric website Don't Forget The Bubbles (DFTB) said in a recent roundup of international research that only around one percent of critical cases involved children, while "deaths remain extremely rare".
Do they get infected?
The short answer is yes.
"Research indicates that children and adolescents are just as likely to become infected as any other age group and can spread the disease," says the World Health Organization.
But this is not reflected in global official data about the virus, with many countries largely focusing their COVID-19 testing on those who have gone to hospital with severe symptoms.
France's health agency, which has amalgamated data from a host of international studies, said pediatric cases represent between one and five percent of all officially-documented global infections.
It said this is because children catch the virus, but generally exhibit only "mild" symptoms -- or no symptoms at all -- meaning they go uncounted.
But other experts believe that children, especially those under the age of 10, might not be getting infected as much in the first place.
"It appears fairly convincing that children are less likely to acquire the infection than adults, by a significant amount," said specialists Alasdair Munro and Damian Roland of DFTB.
Their conclusions were based on several international contact tracing studies that looked at how the disease spread and to whom.
They also assessed data from places that have carried out mass community-wide testing -- South Korea, Iceland and the Italian principality of Vo -- all of which found that the proportion of infected children was far smaller than adults.
But are they silent vectors?
This is the area of greatest uncertainty.
Initially researchers believed they could be spreading the disease, drawing comparisons with other viruses like the flu where children help accelerate infections.
But recent studies on the new coronavirus suggest that they are less likely to transmit the virus.
In one incident, a nine-year-old was among 12 people infected in a super-spreading event at a chalet in the Haute-Savoie region of France, after a British man returned from Singapore and went on a ski holiday.
A study of the incident -- one of the first major clusters of infection in France -- showed that the child, who only displayed mild symptoms, came into contact with 172 people while sick.
None of them contracted COVID-19, not even the youngster's two siblings. But the child did transmit other winter viruses, including the flu.
Children could be less infectious because they do not have as many symptoms and do not cough, French expert Arnaud Fontanet told a parliamentary hearing last week.
But a German study last month led by virologist Christian Drosten, an adviser to Angela Merkel, concluded that children had a viral load comparable to that of adults.
They "could be as contagious", it added.
Other scientists, including Munro, have disputed both the methodology of that study and its conclusion. Re-analysing the data they said it might even be possible to draw the opposite conclusion -- that age and viral load are correlated.
Even so, we cannot say for sure that a higher viral load makes a person more infectious.
A new threat?
In recent weeks, a spate of cases of children affected by an inflammatory illness resembling a rare condition called Kawasaki disease has caused alarm.
Symptoms are high fever, abdominal pain, rash and swollen glands. If untreated, patients can suffer heart failure, but those who are given medical care respond well.
A few dozen cases have been reported in New York, France, Britain, Italy and Spain, and while no link has been formally established to the new coronavirus, scientists believe it could be connected.
In an article published this week in the medical journal The Lancet, British doctors describing eight cases observed in London said it could be "a new phenomenon" affecting previously-asymptomatic children with the coronavirus "manifesting as a hyperinflammatory syndrome".
Reports of the illness came just as several countries in Europe were mulling reopening schools, kindling fears among parents. But experts say the cases are too rare to affect policy decisions.
Should the schools open?
On this there is much disagreement.
Authorities in Italy, which has the oldest teachers of OECD nations with almost 60 percent aged over 50, have expressed concern that reopening schools would risk infecting staff and reigniting the epidemic.
But many other countries, including Germany, Denmark and France, have prioritised reopening schools as they unwind lockdown measures.
In France, scientific estimates that it would be better to keep schools shut until September were outweighed by concerns about other social issues, particularly those facing children from troubled families.
"School can be a haven of peace," explained Jean-Francois Delfraissy, who leads the scientific committee advising the government.
Other experts argue that the benefits of continuing education far outweigh the risks.
In a column published this week in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, Munro and British infectious disease specialist Saul Faust called on governments to allow children to resume lessons, regardless of underlying health conditions, and conduct detailed surveillance to monitor safety.
"Children are not COVID-19 super-spreaders: time to go back to school," they said.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-05-08--Unemployment rate in the United States reaches highest level since Great Depression

People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville , USA , April 6 , 2020 .
The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7 % in April , the highest rate since the Great Depression , as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record .
The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy .
The losses , reported by the Labor Department Friday , reflect what has become a severe recession in the US caused by sudden business shutdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in one month .
The report indicated that the vast majority of April 's job losses — roughly 90 % — are considered temporary , a result of businesses that were forced to suddenly close but hope to reopen and recall their laid-off workers .
Whether most of those workers can return to their jobs anytime soon , though , will be determined by how well policymakers , businesses and the public manage their response to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the job market has occurred with stunning speed .
As recently as February , the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5 % , and employers had added jobs for a record 113 months .
In March , the unemployment rate was just 4.4 % The jump in the unemployment rate did n't capture the full devastation wrought by the business shutdowns .
The Labor Department said its survey-takers erroneously classified millions of Americans as employed in April even though their employers have closed down .
These people should have been classified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If they had been counted correctly , the unemployment rate would have been nearly 20 % , the government said .
President Donald Trump , who faces the prospect of high unemployment rates through the November elections , said the figures were “ no surprise . ''
“ What I can do is I ’ ll bring it back , ” Trump said .
`` Those jobs will all be back , and they ’ ll be back very soon .
And next year we ’ ll have a phenomenal year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will take years to recover all the jobs lost .
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects the jobless rate to be 9.5 % by the end of 2021 .
Racial minorities and lower-income workers suffered the most from the economic shutdown .
Job losses were especially severe for Latinos , whose unemployment rate leapt up to 18.9 % from 6 % in March .
In addition to the millions of newly unemployed , 5.1 million others had their hours reduced in April .
That trend , too , means less income and less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A measure of what ’ s called underemployment — which counts the unemployed plus full-time workers who were reduced to part-time work — reached 22.8 % , a record high .
Though some businesses are beginning to reopen in certain states , factories , hotels , restaurants , resorts , sporting venues , movie theaters and many small businesses are still largely shuttered .
As companies have laid off tens of millions , lives have been upended across the country .
One of the newly unemployed , Sara Barnard , 24 , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : A floor manager at a pub and restaurant , a bartender at a small downtown tavern and as an occasional stand-up comedian .
Her main job was at McGurk ’ s , an Irish pub and restaurant near downtown that closed days before St. Patrick ’ s Day .
She had worked there continually since high school .
McGurk ’ s tried selling food curbside , Barnard said , but it was costing more to keep the place open than the money that was coming in .
Around that time , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comedy jobs ended when social distancing requirements forced clubs to close .
McGurk ’ s is a St. Louis landmark , and Barnard expects it to rebound quickly once it reopens .
She just doesn ’ t know when .
Job losses and pay cuts are ranging across the world .
Unemployment in the 19-country eurozone is expected to surpass 10 % in coming months as more people are laid off .
That figure is expected to remain lower than the U.S. unemployment rate .
But it doesn ’ t count many people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are cut but who receive most of their wages from government assistance .
In France , about half the private-sector workforce is on a government paid-leave program whereby they receive up to 84 % of their net salary .
In Germany , 3 million workers are supported in a similar system , with the government paying up to 60 % of their net pay .
In the five weeks covered by the U.S. jobs report for April , 26.5 million people applied for unemployment benefits .
The job loss reported Friday was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differently : The government calculates job losses by surveying businesses and households .
It ’ s a net figure that also counts the hiring that some companies , like Amazon and many grocery stores , have done .
By contrast , total jobless claims are a measure of just the layoff side of the equation .
The government ’ s report noted that many people who lost jobs in April but didn ’ t look for another one weren ’ t even counted in the unemployment rate .
They are captured in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working-age adults who are employed .
This figure is now just 51.3 % , the lowest proportion on record .
For the United States , a key question is where the job market goes from here .
Applications for unemployment aid , while high , have declined for five straight weeks , a sign that the worst of the layoffs has passed .
Still , few economists expect a rapid turnaround .
A paper by economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve estimates that under an optimistic scenario that assumes shutdowns are lifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to about 4 % by mid-2021 .
But if shutdowns recur and hiring revives more slowly , the jobless rate could remain in double-digits until the end of 2021 , the San Francisco Fed economists predict .
Raj Chetty , a Harvard economist , is tracking real-time data on the economy , including consumer spending , small business hiring and job postings .
Chetty noted the economy ’ s health will hinge on when the viral outbreak has subsided enough that most Americans will feel comfortable returning to restaurants , bars , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggests that many small businesses are holding on in the hope that spending and the economy will rebound soon , he said .
Small business payrolls have fallen sharply but have leveled off in recent weeks .
And job postings haven ’ t dropped nearly as much as total jobs have .
But it ’ s unclear how much longer those trends will persist .
“ There ’ s only so long you can hold out , ” Chetty said .

The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.
People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville, USA, April 6, 2020.
Advertising Read more
The losses, reported by the Labor Department Friday, reflect what has become a severe recession in the US caused by sudden business shutdowns in nearly every industry. Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in one month.
The report indicated that the vast majority of April's job losses — roughly 90% — are considered temporary, a result of businesses that were forced to suddenly close but hope to reopen and recall their laid-off workers. Whether most of those workers can return to their jobs anytime soon, though, will be determined by how well policymakers, businesses and the public manage their response to the public health crisis.
The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. As recently as February, the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5%, and employers had added jobs for a record 113 months. In March, the unemployment rate was just 4.4%.
01:49
The jump in the unemployment rate didn't capture the full devastation wrought by the business shutdowns. The Labor Department said its survey-takers erroneously classified millions of Americans as employed in April even though their employers have closed down. These people should have been classified as on temporary layoff and therefore unemployed. If they had been counted correctly, the unemployment rate would have been nearly 20%, the government said.
President Donald Trump, who faces the prospect of high unemployment rates through the November elections, said the figures were “no surprise."
“What I can do is I’ll bring it back,” Trump said. "Those jobs will all be back, and they’ll be back very soon. And next year we’ll have a phenomenal year."
But economists increasingly worry that it will take years to recover all the jobs lost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects the jobless rate to be 9.5% by the end of 2021.
Racial minorities and lower-income workers suffered the most from the economic shutdown. Job losses were especially severe for Latinos, whose unemployment rate leapt up to 18.9% from 6% in March.
In addition to the millions of newly unemployed, 5.1 million others had their hours reduced in April. That trend, too, means less income and less spending, perpetuating the economic downturn. A measure of what’s called underemployment — which counts the unemployed plus full-time workers who were reduced to part-time work — reached 22.8%, a record high.
Though some businesses are beginning to reopen in certain states, factories, hotels, restaurants, resorts, sporting venues, movie theaters and many small businesses are still largely shuttered. As companies have laid off tens of millions, lives have been upended across the country.
One of the newly unemployed, Sara Barnard, 24, of St. Louis, has lost three jobs: A floor manager at a pub and restaurant, a bartender at a small downtown tavern and as an occasional stand-up comedian. Her main job was at McGurk’s, an Irish pub and restaurant near downtown that closed days before St. Patrick’s Day. She had worked there continually since high school.
McGurk’s tried selling food curbside, Barnard said, but it was costing more to keep the place open than the money that was coming in. Around that time, the bar where she worked closed, and comedy jobs ended when social distancing requirements forced clubs to close.
McGurk’s is a St. Louis landmark, and Barnard expects it to rebound quickly once it reopens. She just doesn’t know when.
Job losses and pay cuts are ranging across the world. Unemployment in the 19-country eurozone is expected to surpass 10% in coming months as more people are laid off. That figure is expected to remain lower than the U.S. unemployment rate. But it doesn’t count many people who either are furloughed or whose hours are cut but who receive most of their wages from government assistance.
In France, about half the private-sector workforce is on a government paid-leave program whereby they receive up to 84% of their net salary. In Germany, 3 million workers are supported in a similar system, with the government paying up to 60% of their net pay.
In the five weeks covered by the U.S. jobs report for April, 26.5 million people applied for unemployment benefits.
The job loss reported Friday was a smaller figure because the two are measured differently: The government calculates job losses by surveying businesses and households. It’s a net figure that also counts the hiring that some companies, like Amazon and many grocery stores, have done. By contrast, total jobless claims are a measure of just the layoff side of the equation.
The government’s report noted that many people who lost jobs in April but didn’t look for another one weren’t even counted in the unemployment rate. They are captured in a separate index: The proportion of all working-age adults who are employed. This figure is now just 51.3%, the lowest proportion on record.
For the United States, a key question is where the job market goes from here. Applications for unemployment aid, while high, have declined for five straight weeks, a sign that the worst of the layoffs has passed. Still, few economists expect a rapid turnaround.
A paper by economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve estimates that under an optimistic scenario that assumes shutdowns are lifted quickly, the unemployment rate could fall back to about 4% by mid-2021.
But if shutdowns recur and hiring revives more slowly, the jobless rate could remain in double-digits until the end of 2021, the San Francisco Fed economists predict.
Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist, is tracking real-time data on the economy, including consumer spending, small business hiring and job postings. Chetty noted the economy’s health will hinge on when the viral outbreak has subsided enough that most Americans will feel comfortable returning to restaurants, bars, movie theaters and shops.
The data suggests that many small businesses are holding on in the hope that spending and the economy will rebound soon, he said. Small business payrolls have fallen sharply but have leveled off in recent weeks. And job postings haven’t dropped nearly as much as total jobs have. But it’s unclear how much longer those trends will persist.
“There’s only so long you can hold out,” Chetty said.
(AP)
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france24--2020-05-08--Exclusive: Investigating how North Korean fishermen plunder foreign waters

Every year , during the squid fishing season , thousands of North Korean makeshift boats invade the waters of Japan and Russia .
In this exclusive 35-minute documentary , we expose a massive and unknown fish smuggling and supply network in the Pacific Ocean .
Every year , an armada of North Korean ghost ships invade the waters of the Russian Far East and Japan .
From Vladivostok to North Korea , via China , our reporter Elena Volochine investigated the illegal fishing networks of the world 's most secretive country , North Korea .
Every year , during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , thousands of makeshift boats invade the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Japan and Russia .
These coarse wooden boats , made of studded planks covered with tar , with plastic propellers and stones as anchors , belong to the flotilla of secretive North Korea .
Its leader Kim Jong Un is said to have ordered his people to fish more and more to feed the country , squeezed hard by international sanctions .
On the Russian and Japanese shores , local inhabitants find more and more ghost ships , these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up the bodies of fishermen , thrown out by the sea .
Here , no one understands why North Korean `` poachers '' face the high seas on boats from another time , risking their lives .
Meanwhile , the fishermen of the Russian Far East are angry .
Their fishing is strictly regulated by quotas but the North Korean fleets come to shamelessly plunder their fishing resources in full view of the authorities .
How are these illegal fishing channels organised ?
Who directs them and who covers for them ?
Our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular to Dandong , a city bordering North Korea .
There , in violation of UN sanctions , North Korean agents illegally sell fishing licenses to Chinese boats , on behalf of Pyongyang .
If North Korea sends its fishermen to `` poach '' in foreign waters , it 's in order to preserve its own fishing resources and sell them at a steep price to its main trading partner , China .
By selling its fishing resources to the Chinese , North Korea obtains revenue in foreign currency – vital for its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deprived of since the sanctions of 2017 .
As for China , a large consumer of fish and seafood , it has exhausted its own resources through uncontrolled overfishing .
Each year , around 2,000 Chinese trawlers are therefore able to fish along the North Korean coast with impunity .
This exclusive report is the result of a months-long investigation , filmed in Russia , China and North Korea .
By retracing the `` poaching '' networks , our reporter exposed the networks of an underground economy which involves sovereign states , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pyongyang at the UN .
This rare documentary sheds light on the most secretive regime in the world , which does not hesitate to sacrifice its population for its own survival .

Every year, during the squid fishing season, thousands of North Korean makeshift boats invade the waters of Japan and Russia.
In this exclusive 35-minute documentary, we expose a massive and unknown fish smuggling and supply network in the Pacific Ocean. Every year, an armada of North Korean ghost ships invade the waters of the Russian Far East and Japan. From Vladivostok to North Korea, via China, our reporter Elena Volochine investigated the illegal fishing networks of the world's most secretive country, North Korea.
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Every year, during the squid fishing season between June and October, thousands of makeshift boats invade the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Japan and Russia. These coarse wooden boats, made of studded planks covered with tar, with plastic propellers and stones as anchors, belong to the flotilla of secretive North Korea. Its leader Kim Jong Un is said to have ordered his people to fish more and more to feed the country, squeezed hard by international sanctions.
On the Russian and Japanese shores, local inhabitants find more and more ghost ships, these abandoned wrecks. Sometimes they even pick up the bodies of fishermen, thrown out by the sea. Here, no one understands why North Korean "poachers" face the high seas on boats from another time, risking their lives.
Meanwhile, the fishermen of the Russian Far East are angry. Their fishing is strictly regulated by quotas but the North Korean fleets come to shamelessly plunder their fishing resources in full view of the authorities. How are these illegal fishing channels organised? Who directs them and who covers for them?
Selling fishing licenses to China
Our investigation takes us to China and in particular to Dandong, a city bordering North Korea. There, in violation of UN sanctions, North Korean agents illegally sell fishing licenses to Chinese boats, on behalf of Pyongyang.
If North Korea sends its fishermen to "poach" in foreign waters, it's in order to preserve its own fishing resources and sell them at a steep price to its main trading partner, China. By selling its fishing resources to the Chinese, North Korea obtains revenue in foreign currency – vital for its economy, and something it has been deprived of since the sanctions of 2017.
As for China, a large consumer of fish and seafood, it has exhausted its own resources through uncontrolled overfishing. Each year, around 2,000 Chinese trawlers are therefore able to fish along the North Korean coast with impunity.
This exclusive report is the result of a months-long investigation, filmed in Russia, China and North Korea. By retracing the "poaching" networks, our reporter exposed the networks of an underground economy which involves sovereign states, which have in fact voted for sanctions against Pyongyang at the UN.
This rare documentary sheds light on the most secretive regime in the world, which does not hesitate to sacrifice its population for its own survival.
A special report co-produced with Arte.
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france24--2020-05-08--Face masks: France adjusts to a new way of life

This week we bring you a show all about face masks as France starts to lift its lockdown .
Faced @ @ @ @ @ start of the Covid-19 pandemic , French authorities initially rejected the notion of a generalised @ @ @ @ @ device as essential , and in some situations compulsory .
In this show we look @ @ @ @ @ French and face masks , and whether they are being welcomed by the general public @ @ @ @ @ an epidemiologist about how to wear them correctly and why they can help prevent the @ @ @ @ @ Finally , we see how seamstresses from an haute couture fashion house are turning their @ @ @ @

This week we bring you a show all about face masks as France starts to lift its lockdown. Faced with controversial shortages at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, French authorities initially rejected the notion of a generalised use before finally touting the device as essential, and in some situations compulsory.
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In this show we look at the relationship between the French and face masks, and whether they are being welcomed by the general public.
We also talk to an epidemiologist about how to wear them correctly and why they can help prevent the spread of the virus.
Finally, we see how seamstresses from an haute couture fashion house are turning their hands to mask-making.
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france24--2020-05-08--Covid-19: Parisians turn to cycling as end of lockdown nears

A customer rides away from a bike shop in Paris on May 6 , 2020 .
As France prepares to gradually end its Covid-19 lockdown on May 11 , workers are busy installing dozens of kilometres of temporary bike lanes across Paris and surrounding suburbs , part of plans to prepare for – and encourage – an expected boom in cycling in the capital .
The city is planning on installing 50km of cycle lanes , with hundreds more in nearby suburbs .
Some of Paris ’ s busiest roads , such as the Rue de Rivoli , will also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is hoping to avoid a return to the severe congestion that was part of daily life before the lockdown , as well as reducing large crowds on public transport as people begin returning to work .
And many Parisians seem keen on taking up two-wheeled transport as the end of lockdown nears , with a number of bike shops saying sales have exploded in recent days .
” We ’ ve been selling on average two bikes a day for the past decade or so .
Leading up to the end of lockdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 a day , ” Cedric Laurent , manager of Cycles Laurent , told AFP .
“ I ’ m terrified of taking public transport .
I ’ ll have to cross the whole of Paris when I go back to work , so I ’ m looking for an electric bike .
Plus , it ’ s getting sunny now , so I think it ’ s the best solution , ” added customer Diane Shenouda .
It remains to be seen if cycling will become a way of life for more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made making the city more bike friendly a key part of her re-election campaign before the elections were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic .

As France prepares to gradually end its Covid-19 lockdown on May 11, workers are busy installing dozens of kilometres of temporary bike lanes across Paris and surrounding suburbs, part of plans to prepare for – and encourage – an expected boom in cycling in the capital.
A customer rides away from a bike shop in Paris on May 6, 2020.
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The city is planning on installing 50km of cycle lanes, with hundreds more in nearby suburbs.
Some of Paris’s busiest roads, such as the Rue de Rivoli, will also be closed to cars.
The city is hoping to avoid a return to the severe congestion that was part of daily life before the lockdown, as well as reducing large crowds on public transport as people begin returning to work.
And many Parisians seem keen on taking up two-wheeled transport as the end of lockdown nears, with a number of bike shops saying sales have exploded in recent days.
”We’ve been selling on average two bikes a day for the past decade or so. Leading up to the end of lockdown, we’ve been selling around 10 a day,” Cedric Laurent, manager of Cycles Laurent, told AFP.
“I’m terrified of taking public transport. I’ll have to cross the whole of Paris when I go back to work, so I’m looking for an electric bike. Plus, it’s getting sunny now, so I think it’s the best solution,” added customer Diane Shenouda.
It remains to be seen if cycling will become a way of life for more Parisians in the long term, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo made making the city more bike friendly a key part of her re-election campaign before the elections were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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france24--2020-05-08--Hundreds of thousands flee violence in eastern DR Congo

Soldiers from the UN 's Monusco mission pictured on March 13 , 2020 in the violence-torn Djugu territory of Ituri province , in eastern DR Congo .
More than 200,000 people , mostly women and children , have fled surging violence in Ituri since March in the Democratic Republic of Congo 's volatile east , the UN said Friday .
Tensions have been rising in Ituri since last December with the launch of a government-led military operation against various armed groups in the region .
`` The UN refugee agency remains alarmed at an ongoing surge in violent attacks on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democratic Republic of the Congo , where more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in just two months , '' agency spokesman Charlie Yaxley told a virtual briefing .
`` UNHCR is calling on all sides involved in the conflict to respect civilian lives and humanitarian work , '' he said .
DR Congo already counts some five million displaced people , including 1.2 million in Ituri , he said .
A UN report in January said more than 700 civilians had been killed in Ituri since the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UNHCR and its partners had since March recorded more than 3,000 serious human rights violations in Djugu territory alone , linked to an average of nearly 50 attacks against the local population every day .
`` Displaced persons have reported acts of extreme violence with at least 274 civilians killed with weapons such as machetes , '' he said , adding that more than 140 women had reported being raped while nearly 8,000 houses had been set alight .
`` The vast majority of those displaced are women and children , many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with host families , '' he said .
Others , he said , were sleeping in the open , or camping in public buildings like schools , which are currently not in use due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Some of those who had dared to return home were subjected to fresh attacks .
On April 24 , four returnees were reportedly killed in Nyangaray town , while another 20 families were kidnapped by an armed group , while two returnees to Mahagi territory were reportedly buried alive by a group of armed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the equivalent of $ 6 , UNHCR said .
Yaxley said the United Nations was deeply concerned `` for the safety of the displaced people '' .
At the same time , lacking access for aid workers and deep funding shortages risked leaving them vulnerable to hunger and could `` have a huge impact as income opportunities have been reduced with the COVID-19 pandemic . ''
`` UNHCR and its partners are working to assist with relief supplies and constructing more shelters for the newly displaced , '' he said , adding though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

More than 200,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled surging violence in Ituri since March in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east, the UN said Friday.
Soldiers from the UN's Monusco mission pictured on March 13, 2020 in the violence-torn Djugu territory of Ituri province, in eastern DR Congo.
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Tensions have been rising in Ituri since last December with the launch of a government-led military operation against various armed groups in the region.
"The UN refugee agency remains alarmed at an ongoing surge in violent attacks on local populations in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in just two months," agency spokesman Charlie Yaxley told a virtual briefing.
"UNHCR is calling on all sides involved in the conflict to respect civilian lives and humanitarian work," he said.
DR Congo already counts some five million displaced people, including 1.2 million in Ituri, he said.
A UN report in January said more than 700 civilians had been killed in Ituri since the end of 2017.
Yaxely said the UNHCR and its partners had since March recorded more than 3,000 serious human rights violations in Djugu territory alone, linked to an average of nearly 50 attacks against the local population every day.
"Displaced persons have reported acts of extreme violence with at least 274 civilians killed with weapons such as machetes," he said, adding that more than 140 women had reported being raped while nearly 8,000 houses had been set alight.
"The vast majority of those displaced are women and children, many of whom are now living under crowded circumstances with host families," he said.
Others, he said, were sleeping in the open, or camping in public buildings like schools, which are currently not in use due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of those who had dared to return home were subjected to fresh attacks.
On April 24, four returnees were reportedly killed in Nyangaray town, while another 20 families were kidnapped by an armed group, while two returnees to Mahagi territory were reportedly buried alive by a group of armed men, who accused them of stealing the equivalent of $6, UNHCR said.
Yaxley said the United Nations was deeply concerned "for the safety of the displaced people".
At the same time, lacking access for aid workers and deep funding shortages risked leaving them vulnerable to hunger and could "have a huge impact as income opportunities have been reduced with the COVID-19 pandemic."
"UNHCR and its partners are working to assist with relief supplies and constructing more shelters for the newly displaced," he said, adding though that such sites were rapidly becoming overcrowded.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-05-08--Nazi defeat that ended WWII is a 'day of gratitude', President Steinmeier says

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gives a speech during a wreath laying ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the end @ @ @ @ @ at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin , Germany , May 8 , 2020 .
@ @ @ @ @ for the Nazi defeat that ended World War II in Europe 75 years ago , @ @ @ @ @ a landmark commemoration speech on Friday .
`` Today , we Germans are allowed to @ @ @ @ @ liberation is a day of gratitude ! ''
Steinmeier said at a solemn Berlin ceremony @ @ @ @ @ of Nazi Germany 's unconditional surrender to the Allies is a one-off public holiday in @ @ @ @ @ events have been scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic .
Steinmeier 's words recalled @ @ @ @ @ 's watershed speech in 1985 when he became the first to call on Germans to @ @ @ @ @ a day of defeat , but as a day of liberation from the Nazi tyranny @

Germans feel "gratitude" for the Nazi defeat that ended World War II in Europe 75 years ago, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a landmark commemoration speech on Friday.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gives a speech during a wreath laying ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin, Germany, May 8, 2020.
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"Today, we Germans are allowed to say: the day of liberation is a day of gratitude!" Steinmeier said at a solemn Berlin ceremony.
The May 8 anniversary of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies is a one-off public holiday in Berlin this year, although events have been scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Steinmeier's words recalled former president Richard von Weizsaecker's watershed speech in 1985 when he became the first to call on Germans to remember May 8 not as a day of defeat, but as a day of liberation from the Nazi tyranny.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-05-08--Week in Review: Covid-19 prisoner releases, how a pandemic affects film and the Rance Valley

This week we took a look at Iran 's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic , the troubles that lie ahead for prisoners on early release due to the coronavirus and China 's `` mask diplomacy '' .
We also investigate how Covid-19 is affecting the French cinema industry and the role of US forces in the Sahel region 's war on terror .
The release of more than 11,000 people from French jails has eased overcrowding and reduced the potential for Covid-19 contamination but has created a new set of challenges .
French supermarkets have promised to put millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 .
But some health professionals are demanding an explanation after weeks of mask shortages and rationing .
Parisians were roasted for spreadiing the coronavirus when they raced for the countryside ahead of France ’ s nationwide lockdown .
While some are now itching to go back to the cities , others are reluctant to surrender their bucolic havens for a return to urban life in the age of Covid-19 .
French President Emmanuel Macron says it is unlikely that French people will be able to take long-distance trips this summer and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be limited to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus .
Can the unmasking of China ’ s Covid-19 ‘ mask diplomacy ’ stem Beijing ’ s global power grab ?
The Covid-19 outbreak found China uniquely positioned for a global soft-power grab , with Beijing using its supplies of medical equipment to launch a round of “ mask diplomacy ” .
But then a steady flow of anti-Beijing headlines followed by an aggressive diplomatic onslaught unravelled the gains .
Paris by Night : FRANCE 24 meets the night wanderers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is among the strictest in Europe as the country bids to stamp out Covid-19 .
Paris is usually known for its night wanderers , but the last few weeks have seen its vibrant atmosphere replaced by silence .
However , not all Parisians are respecting lockdown measures and FRANCE 24 went out to meet them .
Some are simply wandering the streets ; others are out and about because the streets are where they call home .
Face masks for the deaf : Covid 19 's communication challenge for the hearing impaired How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face is hidden behind a mask ?
That is the challenge facing deaf people across the world as the Covid-19 pandemic makes face masks a part of daily life .
The answer could be transparent face masks but such masks are in short supply , leading some to make their own .
Locked up with Covid-19 : UN warns of ‘ disastrous ’ conditions in Latin America ’ s jails Protests and riots have hit prisons across South America in recent weeks over fears of the spread of Covid-19 within their walls .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ overcrowding , unsanitary conditions and lack of access to healthcare is causing the “ rapid spread ” of the virus in detention facilities throughout Latin America .
For many farmers the Covid-19 pandemic has been brutal , with large orders cancelled and revenue plunging .
But some small-scale farmers have noticed a rise in direct sales .
In hard-hit New York , thousands of people have joined a rent strike movement dubbed # CancelRent as the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread .
They ’ re now calling for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gates of Paris in June 1940 , forcing many Parisians to flee the City of Lights .
In all , 8-10 million refugees left their homes to escape the Nazi invasion – almost a quarter of the French population at the time .
France under lockdown : Staying in shape and sightseeing with a difference How are the French coping with life in lockdown , and what does a deserted Paris look like ?
Film show : How is Covid-19 impacting the French cinema industry ?
With 6,000 cinemas closed , 200 film @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than €150 million lost and more than half the population signed up to a streaming service , we take a look at the effect the coronavirus has had on the French film industry .
We also take a look at the unexpected revival of the drive-in theatre in the era of social distancing and the release of Terrence Mallick 's `` A Hidden Life '' on VOD .
Millions are in confinement around the world , and all of us are searching for activities to cheer us up .
Every day since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sinclar has been gathering hundreds of thousands of people for one hour of uplifting funk via Facebook and Instagram .
'We do n't have a strategy of herd immunity , ' Swedish FM says Sweden 's Foreign Minister Ann Linde spoke to FRANCE 24 about the Covid-19 pandemic and the approach adopted in her country , which has thus far avoided imposing a lockdown and has instead relied on trust and self-discipline .
But she denied that this approach was akin to relying on herd immunity .
Are US forces essential to war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
In the fight against terrorist groups in Africa , US forces provide crucial support to the G5 Sahel group ( which comprises Burkina Faso , Chad , Mali , Mauritania and Niger ) with intelligence , logistics and supplies .
But as the terror threat continues to spread throughout the region , Africa is no longer a priority for the Pentagon , which is looking at withdrawing US troops Covid-19 : Doctor speaks out about Iran 's handling of pandemic Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths .
But observers and health experts say the numbers are actually much higher .
After weighing the economic risks against health concerns , the country 's leadership has decided to reopen businesses in late April followed by schools and mosques .
We speak to a doctor from Tehran , who has been on the front lines of the battle against Covid-19 .
He asked for his identity to be concealed .
YOU ARE HERE Brittany 's Rance Valley , a pocket of tranquillity between land and sea It flows for just 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ France 's Brittany region is home to an exceptional and ever-changing array of biodiversity .
Its mouth has been home to France 's only tidal power station for half a century .
We see how the 400-metre-long dam also acts as a road bridge between the towns of Dinard and Saint-Malo .
Some 17 percent of households in Brittany get their power from this green energy source .
We then travel farther up the valley , where we find boats , old mills ... and a famous seal named Joséphine .
Professional football @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns .
With colossal sums of money at stake , the impact on the clubs has been a financial catastophe .
In France , the government has cancelled the rest of the Ligue 1 season .
But in some countries , including Germany and Austria , training sessions have resumed and league games could soon be back .
But how to play football amid the coronavirus threat ?
And will supporters get to see their idols anytime soon ?
Transport via two wheels is cheap , clean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintaining safe distances .
From Bogotá to Berlin , cities around the world are betting on bicycles to take over when coronavirus lockdowns ease .
Medical staff are feeling the full physical and psychological impacts of the Covid-19 crisis .
In a bid to help the helpers , most hospitals now offer much-needed support .
But the crisis doesn ’ t end at the hospital gates , and front-liners are also witnessing the effects on their private lives ; we take a look at how this pandemic is affecting their children .
Plus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal with a sudden influx of patients , French authorities promptly called upon medical and nursing students to offer backup .
A woman 's work : Has Covid-19 seen the return of the '50s housewife ?
Has a side-effect of the lockdown been the return of the 1950s housewife , with women once again assumed to be in charge of running the household even while working from home ?
Or are domestic responsibilities now equally divided ?
The right stuff : Are female leaders better at managing Covid-19 ?
While a number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 crisis , few with female leaders have done badly .
We talk to Margaret Heffernan , an entrepreneur and author of `` Uncharted '' , about whether women are more likely to be made of the right stuff when it comes to managing pandemics .

WEEK IN REVIEW
This week we took a look at Iran's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the troubles that lie ahead for prisoners on early release due to the coronavirus and China's "mask diplomacy". We also investigate how Covid-19 is affecting the French cinema industry and the role of US forces in the Sahel region's war on terror.
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ARTICLES
Challenges abound for prisoners released early from French prisons
The release of more than 11,000 people from French jails has eased overcrowding and reduced the potential for Covid-19 contamination but has created a new set of challenges.
Sale of Covid-19 masks in French supermarkets sparks controversy
French supermarkets have promised to put millions of masks on sale to help protect against Covid-19. But some health professionals are demanding an explanation after weeks of mask shortages and rationing.
Exiled Parisians face bittersweet homecoming as France eases Covid-19 lockdown
Parisians were roasted for spreadiing the coronavirus when they raced for the countryside ahead of France’s nationwide lockdown. While some are now itching to go back to the cities, others are reluctant to surrender their bucolic havens for a return to urban life in the age of Covid-19.
France to limit international summer travel over coronavirus fears
French President Emmanuel Macron says it is unlikely that French people will be able to take long-distance trips this summer and that even trips within Europe may have to be limited to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus.
Can the unmasking of China’s Covid-19 ‘mask diplomacy’ stem Beijing’s global power grab?
The Covid-19 outbreak found China uniquely positioned for a global soft-power grab, with Beijing using its supplies of medical equipment to launch a round of “mask diplomacy”. But then a steady flow of anti-Beijing headlines followed by an aggressive diplomatic onslaught unravelled the gains.
VIDEO REPORTS
Paris by Night: FRANCE 24 meets the night wanderers of the Covid-19 lockdown
France’s lockdown is among the strictest in Europe as the country bids to stamp out Covid-19. Paris is usually known for its night wanderers, but the last few weeks have seen its vibrant atmosphere replaced by silence. However, not all Parisians are respecting lockdown measures and FRANCE 24 went out to meet them. Some are simply wandering the streets; others are out and about because the streets are where they call home.
Screengrab of people wandering around at night through an empty Paris. © FRANCE 24 screengrab.
Face masks for the deaf: Covid 19's communication challenge for the hearing impaired
How to lip read when everyone’s face is hidden behind a mask? That is the challenge facing deaf people across the world as the Covid-19 pandemic makes face masks a part of daily life. The answer could be transparent face masks but such masks are in short supply, leading some to make their own.
A transparent face mask on a mannequin in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on April 29, 2020. © AFP / FRANCE 24
Locked up with Covid-19: UN warns of ‘disastrous’ conditions in Latin America’s jails
Protests and riots have hit prisons across South America in recent weeks over fears of the spread of Covid-19 within their walls. Now, the UN is warning that overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and lack of access to healthcare is causing the “rapid spread” of the virus in detention facilities throughout Latin America.
The UN has warned that overcrowding and poor conditions in Latin American jails is leading to the rapid spread of Covid-19 among inmates. © Reuters / France 24
Covid-19: France's small-scale farmers see 'glimmer of hope'
For many farmers the Covid-19 pandemic has been brutal, with large orders cancelled and revenue plunging. But some small-scale farmers have noticed a rise in direct sales.
NYC housing activists call for nationwide #CancelRent strike
In hard-hit New York, thousands of people have joined a rent strike movement dubbed #CancelRent as the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread. They’re now calling for a nationwide strike.
Dylan is one of many NYC participating in the city's rent strike. © Jessica le Masurier, FRANCE 24
WEBDOC
Exodus: Refugees remember the 1940 German invasion
German soldiers reached the gates of Paris in June 1940, forcing many Parisians to flee the City of Lights. In all, 8-10 million refugees left their homes to escape the Nazi invasion – almost a quarter of the French population at the time.
Exodus: Refugees remember the 1940 German invasion © F24
TV SHOWS ONLINE
FRENCH CONNECTIONS
France under lockdown: Staying in shape and sightseeing with a difference
How are the French coping with life in lockdown, and what does a deserted Paris look like?
FRENCH CONNECTIONS © FRANCE 24
ENCORE!
Film show: How is Covid-19 impacting the French cinema industry?
With 6,000 cinemas closed, 200 film shoots scrapped in just one month, more than €150 million lost and more than half the population signed up to a streaming service, we take a look at the effect the coronavirus has had on the French film industry. We also take a look at the unexpected revival of the drive-in theatre in the era of social distancing and the release of Terrence Mallick's "A Hidden Life" on VOD.
ENCORE! © FRANCE 24
Lockdown living with top French DJ Bob Sinclar’s nostalgic live sets
Millions are in confinement around the world, and all of us are searching for activities to cheer us up. Every day since mid-March, French DJ and producer Bob Sinclar has been gathering hundreds of thousands of people for one hour of uplifting funk via Facebook and Instagram.
ENCORE! © FRANCE 24
TALKING EUROPE
'We don't have a strategy of herd immunity,' Swedish FM says
Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde spoke to FRANCE 24 about the Covid-19 pandemic and the approach adopted in her country, which has thus far avoided imposing a lockdown and has instead relied on trust and self-discipline. But she denied that this approach was akin to relying on herd immunity.
TALKING EUROPE © FRANCE 24
REPORTERS
Are US forces essential to war on terror in Africa's Sahel region?
In the fight against terrorist groups in Africa, US forces provide crucial support to the G5 Sahel group (which comprises Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) with intelligence, logistics and supplies. But as the terror threat continues to spread throughout the region, Africa is no longer a priority for the Pentagon, which is looking at withdrawing US troops
MIDDLE EAST MATTERS
Covid-19: Doctor speaks out about Iran's handling of pandemic
Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East, with authorities there reporting more than 6,000 deaths. But observers and health experts say the numbers are actually much higher. After weighing the economic risks against health concerns, the country's leadership has decided to reopen businesses in late April followed by schools and mosques. We speak to a doctor from Tehran, who has been on the front lines of the battle against Covid-19. He asked for his identity to be concealed.
MIDDLE EAST MATTERS © FRANCE 24
YOU ARE HERE
Brittany's Rance Valley, a pocket of tranquillity between land and sea
It flows for just 100 kilometres, but the Rance river in France's Brittany region is home to an exceptional and ever-changing array of biodiversity. Its mouth has been home to France's only tidal power station for half a century. We see how the 400-metre-long dam also acts as a road bridge between the towns of Dinard and Saint-Malo. Some 17 percent of households in Brittany get their power from this green energy source. We then travel farther up the valley, where we find boats, old mills ... and a famous seal named Joséphine.
Podcast © FMM
FOCUS
European professional football red-carded by Covid-19 pandemic
Professional football in Europe has not been spared by the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns. With colossal sums of money at stake, the impact on the clubs has been a financial catastophe. In France, the government has cancelled the rest of the Ligue 1 season. But in some countries, including Germany and Austria, training sessions have resumed and league games could soon be back. But how to play football amid the coronavirus threat? And will supporters get to see their idols anytime soon?
DOWN TO EARTH
Bicycles: Riding out of lockdown
Transport via two wheels is cheap, clean, and allows for mass travel while maintaining safe distances. From Bogotá to Berlin, cities around the world are betting on bicycles to take over when coronavirus lockdowns ease.
DOWN TO EARTH © FRANCE 24
FRANCE IN FOCUS
Treating Covid-19: the toll on France's medical workers
Medical staff are feeling the full physical and psychological impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. In a bid to help the helpers, most hospitals now offer much-needed support. But the crisis doesn’t end at the hospital gates, and front-liners are also witnessing the effects on their private lives; we take a look at how this pandemic is affecting their children. Plus, among the exceptional measures taken to deal with a sudden influx of patients, French authorities promptly called upon medical and nursing students to offer backup.
THE 51 PERCENT
A woman's work: Has Covid-19 seen the return of the '50s housewife?
Has a side-effect of the lockdown been the return of the 1950s housewife, with women once again assumed to be in charge of running the household even while working from home? Or are domestic responsibilities now equally divided?
THE 51 PERCENT © Getty Images/SuperStock RM - SuperStock
The right stuff: Are female leaders better at managing Covid-19?
While a number of male leaders have done well during the Covid-19 crisis, few with female leaders have done badly. We talk to Margaret Heffernan, an entrepreneur and author of "Uncharted", about whether women are more likely to be made of the right stuff when it comes to managing pandemics.
THE 51 PERCENT © FRANCE 24
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france24--2020-05-09--Brazil reports new daily record for Covid-19 deaths as country’s cases exceed 145,000

Ulisses Xavier , 52 , who has worked for 16 years at Nossa Senhora cemetery in Manaus , Brazil , rides a bike carrying a cross during his shift on May 7 , 2020 .
The cemetery has seen a surge in the number of new graves after the outbreak of Covid-19 .
Brazil , the country in Latin America that has been hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis , said Friday it had reached a new daily record for COVID-19 fatalities with 751 deaths .
The announcement by the health ministry puts Brazil 's total death count at nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the novel coronavirus have been reported so far , with 10,222 added in the last 24 hours .
Experts say under-testing means the real figures are likely much higher .
Sao Paulo -- which has a population of 45.9 million , or about the same size as Spain -- has registered more than 41,000 of Brazil 's cases , and 3,416 deaths .
The state is Brazil 's top industrial hub .
It closed schools and non-essential businesses on March 24 , and has extended its stay-at-home order through the end of May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such measures , saying business closures are unnecessarily damaging the country 's economy .

Brazil, the country in Latin America that has been hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis, said Friday it had reached a new daily record for COVID-19 fatalities with 751 deaths.
Ulisses Xavier, 52, who has worked for 16 years at Nossa Senhora cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, rides a bike carrying a cross during his shift on May 7, 2020. The cemetery has seen a surge in the number of new graves after the outbreak of Covid-19.
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The announcement by the health ministry puts Brazil's total death count at nearly 10,000.
More than 145,000 cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported so far, with 10,222 added in the last 24 hours.
Experts say under-testing means the real figures are likely much higher.
Sao Paulo -- which has a population of 45.9 million, or about the same size as Spain -- has registered more than 41,000 of Brazil's cases, and 3,416 deaths.
The state is Brazil's top industrial hub. It closed schools and non-essential businesses on March 24, and has extended its stay-at-home order through the end of May.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized such measures, saying business closures are unnecessarily damaging the country's economy.
(AFP)
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