PARIS: Wearing a white medical mask, French President Emmanuel Macron went ahead with a planned speech by videoconference Thursday, hours after testing positive for COVID-19 following a week in which he met with numerous European leaders.
The French and Spanish prime ministers and the EU Council president were among many top officials self-isolating because they had recent contact with him.
Macron took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared" on Thursday morning and will self-isolate for seven days, the presidency said in a brief statement. It did not detail what symptoms Macron experienced or what treatment he might be receiving.
The 42-year-old president "will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” the statement added. His wife, Brigitte, 67, tested negative on Thursday. She has no symptoms and will self-isolate as a precaution, her office said.
On Thursday afternoon, Macron took part, as planned, in a roundtable on French aid to the world's poorest countries — but via videoconference instead of attending in person.
Wearing a high-protection, medical grade mask — instead of the fabric versions emblazoned with the French flags he often wears — he showed no apparent sign of being affected by the disease. He did not mention the virus in his speech.
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said contact tracing efforts were in progress. He said Macron started to feel symptoms overnight and that he will keep working from the Elysee presidential palace.
“The virus has been circulating in France and worldwide for several months and the presidency and government are used to working in these circumstances,” Attal said.
Macron joined a growing list of leaders who have tested positive for the virus, including U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who wished him a speedy recovery on Twitter.
France has a tradition of keeping strict medical privacy, including for top officials, and Macron once said he would release health information only when justified by the impact it could have on his presidency.
Macron, and people in his entourage, have rarely been seen in public without a mask in recent months. The French president usually only removes it when making a speech or at a press conference when he is at safe distance from others. For several months, masks have been required in all indoor public places in France and everywhere outdoors in big cities.
The French president has had multiple in-person meetings in recent days at home and in Brussels where he attended a European Union summit at the end of last week. The Elysee palace confirmed that a trip to Lebanon scheduled for next week is being canceled.
Some have questioned Macron's many activities as the country is implementing strict anti-virus measures, including a lockdown since October that was only partially lifted on Tuesday and now includes a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. All restaurants and bars, tourist sites and many other public places remain closed.
“Zero risk doesn’t exist. We are all equal in the face of this disease,” said Thomas Mesnier, a lawmaker from Macron’s party and emergency doctor by training.
“Anyone can get sick, even if you are scrupulously respecting protective measures and wearing masks” he told news broadcaster France-Info.
EU leaders met in person on Dec 10-11, for the first time since October, as the summit involved key negotiations on the EU's long-term budget and recovery fund and climate-related policies. The media was kept away from the summit venue in Brussels, but television images showed the leaders wearing masks, generally keeping good distancing — preferring elbow bumps to the usual handshakes, kisses and hugs — and occasionally using hand gel dispensers in the room.
“During the European Council of Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December all sanitary measures were observed and we have not been informed of any other participant or staff present during the summit who tested positive," said an EU official, who was not allowed to be identified publicly.
Spain’s government said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was found negative after taking a PCR test on Thursday morning following the news that Macron was infected. Sánchez had been with Macron on Monday during an event at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Sánchez will remain in isolation until Dec. 24.
The prime minister of Portugal, António Costa, who had lunch with Macron on Wednesday, also tested negative for the virus Thursday.
European Council President Charles Michel and several other EU top officials announced that they were placing themselves in self-isolation as a precaution.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had a bilateral meeting with Macron in Brussels, had taken a PCR test a few days after the European Council meeting as a matter of routine and it had been negative, her office said.
Macron's positive test also led several high-profile French politicians and government officials to self-isolate as a precaution.
On Wednesday, Macron held the government's weekly Cabinet meeting and in the evening, he had dinner with several members of his party. A day earlier, he lunched with the heads of political groups at the National Assembly.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex's office said that he tested negative Thursday but would self-isolate for seven days.
Several politicians who attended a lunch or a dinner at the Elysee palace recently described strict sanitary protocols, with guests placed around a very big table and speaking into a microphone to be able to maintain distance between them. Some said they have been informed by the presidency they are not considered as having been in close contact with the president, because they were too far away.
Christophe Castaner, a lawmaker from Macron's party who attended Wednesday's dinner, told reporters that by the nature of Macron’s office he comes in contact with many people, and that “even exemplary behavior” isn’t always enough to protect people from the virus.
Macron has always been an active president who travels frequently. He has scaled down his activities somewhat this year but continued holding in-person meetings in Paris, other French cities and in Brussels as numbers of virus infections were high in the country in recent weeks. He welcomed Egypt's president on a state visit to France earlier this month.
The French president is following national health authorities' recommendations that since September have reduced the self-isolation time from 14 days to seven. Authorities said at the time that this is the period when there is the greatest risk of contagion and that reducing it allows better enforcement of the measure.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to isolate for at least 10 days after symptoms first appear.
France’s Macron has tested positive for COVID-19
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France’s Macron has tested positive for COVID-19
- The presidency said he would isolate for the next seven days
US allies, foes alarmed by capture of Venezuela’s Maduro
- Countries such as Russia and China, which had ties with Maduro’s government, were quick to condemn the operation but alarm also shared by France and EU
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the US strikes
PARIS: The US military operation that led to the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday sparked alarm across the international community, with allies and foes of Washington and Caracas expressing disquiet.
US President Donald Trump said Maduro and his wife would be taken to New York to face federal charges after military strikes and an operation which he described as looking like a “television show.”
The Venezuelan government decried what it termed a “extremely serious military aggression” by Washington and declared a state of emergency.
Countries such as Russia and Iran, which had longstanding ties with Maduro’s government, were quick to condemn the operation but their alarm was also shared by Washington’s allies including France and the EU.
Here is a rundown of the main reaction.
Russia
Russia demanded the US leadership “reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of the sovereign country and his wife.”
China
Beijing said “China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president.”
Iran
Iran, which Trump bombed last year, said it “strongly condemns the US military attack on Venezuela and a flagrant violation of the country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Mexico
Mexico, which Trump has also threatened with military force over drug trafficking, strongly condemned the US military action in Venezuela, saying it “seriously jeopardizes regional stability.”
Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro — whose country neighbors Venezuela — called the US action an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.
Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed the US attacks as a “serious affront” to Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Cuba
Cuba, a strong ally of Venezuela, denounced “state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people.”
Spain
Spain offered to mediate in the crisis to find a way to a peaceful solution, while calling for “de-escalation and restraint.”
France
France condemned the US operation, saying it undermined international law and no solution to Venezuela’s crisis can be imposed from the outside.
EU
The EU more generally expressed concern at the developments and urged respect for international law, even as it noted that Maduro “lacks legitimacy.”
EU candidate country North Macedonia, along with fellow Balkan nations Albania and Kosovo, backed Washington, however.
“We stand with the United States and the Venezuelan people for freedom and democracy,” North Macedonia FM Timco Mucunski said on X.
Britain
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said all countries should “uphold international law” and added that “the UK was not involved in any way in this operation” as he urged patience in order to “establish the facts.”
Italy
In a rare expression of support for the US operation by a major European country, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a Trump ally — argued the US military action in Venezuela was “legitimate” and “defensive.”
Israel
Israel also hailed the operation, saying Washington acted as the “leader of the free world.”
Ukraine
Ukraine — dependent on US support in its war against invading Russia — did not address the legality of a big country like America using military force against a much smaller one like Venezuela.
Foreign minister Andriy Sybiga instead focused on Maduro’s lack of legitimacy and the Venezuelan government’s repression, while backing “democracy, human rights, and the interests of Venezuelans.”
South Africa
South Africa, which Trump accuses of alleged discrimination — and even “genocide” — of minority white Afrikaners, said: “Unlawful, unilateral force of this nature undermines the stability of the international order and the principle of equality among nations.”
UN
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the US strikes, with his spokesman quoting him as saying it could “constitute a dangerous precedent.”
