PARIS: The French government is considering whether to end emergency health measures imposed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic on July 10, the Prime Minister’s department said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s office said the possible date of July 10 was one of several options being examined at present.
France has eased many of its earlier, strict lockdown measures as data has shown signs that the virus may be fading away in the country, with shops, holiday resorts and tourist attractions slowly re-opening.
Nevertheless, the public is still being encouraged to wear face masks when outside, and to maintain distances of at least one meter apart from one another, while most employees are continuing to work from home rather than the office.
Official data published on Tuesday showed that France’s coronavirus death toll had risen by 87 to 29,296. This marked the highest daily toll since June 2, but remained under 100 for the seventh day in a row.
France may end COVID-19 emergency health measures on July 10
https://arab.news/87tgq
France may end COVID-19 emergency health measures on July 10
- The possible date of July 10 was one of several options being examined at present
- France has eased coronavirus measures as data showed decreased presence of the virus
France releases suspected Russia ‘shadow fleet’ tanker after fine
- The ship is suspected of being part of a shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Russia and Iran
- “The tanker Grinch is leaving French waters after paying several million euros and enduring a costly three-week immobilization in Fos-sur-Mer,” Barrot said
MARSEILLE: France on Tuesday released a tanker called Grinch suspected of being part of Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” after its owner paid a fine of several million euros, a minister said.
French forces and their allies boarded the oil tanker last month between Spain and Morocco after it started its journey in Russia. It was escorted to a port near the southern city of Marseille.
Ship tracking websites MarineTraffic and VesselFinder said the vessel had been flying a Comoros flag.
The ship is suspected of being part of a shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
“The tanker Grinch is leaving French waters after paying several million euros and enduring a costly three-week immobilization in Fos-sur-Mer,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.
Russia has reportedly built up a flotilla of old tankers of opaque ownership to get around sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States and the G7 group of nations, over Moscow’s 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions, aimed at limiting Moscow’s revenues to pursue its war, have shut out many tankers carrying Russian oil from Western insurance and shipping systems.
“Evading European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to bankroll its war with impunity through a shadow fleet off our shores,” Barrot said.
The public prosecutor’s office and regional authorities said that, “as part of a guilty plea procedure, the company that owns the vessel was sentenced by the Marseille judicial court to a financial penalty.”
“The company, which has already taken numerous steps in this direction, has committed to obtaining a new flag as soon as possible,” they said in a joint statement, without adding where the owner was based.
A ship called Grinch is under UK sanctions, while another named Carl with the same registration number is sanctioned by the United States and European Union.
The boarding last month was the second of its kind in recent months.
France in September detained a Russian-linked ship called the Boracay, a vessel claiming to be flagged in Benin, a move Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned as “piracy.”
The Boracay’s Chinese captain is to stand trial in France next week.
The European Union lists 598 vessels suspected of being part of the “shadow fleet” that are banned from European ports and maritime services.
