France reports new daily record of 335,000 Covid cases

[PARIS] France set a record for new Covid cases over a 24-hour period on Wednesday with 335,000 additional infections recorded, Health Minister Olivier Veran told parliament.

It was the first time that French cases breached 300,000, smashing the previous record established on Tuesday when 271,686 new Covid cases were recorded.

The French health authority was to publish the exact figure later on Wednesday "but from memory, we had 335,000 infections in our country", Veran said.

He was speaking during a debate on the government's plan to replace the current health pass - which contains proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery - with a "vaccine pass" for which only people with full vaccination qualify.

Veran said that 66,000 people in France had received their first Covid jab on Wednesday, a daily rate not seen since the beginning of October.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Veran said of the high number which comes after a massive pro-vaccination campaign by the government.

It also follows remarks by President Emmanuel Macron who warned that the government would squeeze those who continue to refuse Covid jabs.

"As for the non-vaccinated, I really want to piss them off," he said.

If Wednesday's vaccination rate could be maintained "for 70 or 75 days", Veran said, "the French population would be completely protected against the serious forms" of Covid.

Around five million people in France are still unvaccinated, with 20 per cent of them considered to be at high risk from Covid.

AFP