France 'cannot afford' another lockdown, says prime minister

France is bracing for a second wave of Covid-19 cases but cannot afford the “disastrous” economic consequences of another national lockdown, its new prime minister said on Wednesday.

"We must be ready for a second wave, but we would not proceed with a [national] lockdown as we did in March, because we’ve learned… that the economic and human consequences of a total lockdown are disastrous,” Jean Castex told BFM television. He said any new restrictions on businesses or stay-at-home orders would be local, “targeted” to specific areas affected.

Public health officials and senior doctors have warned that a second wave may come within months. Jérôme Salomon, the head of the national health agency, said it is expected “this autumn or this winter”, but would depend on people’s behaviour.

France gradually lifted lockdown restrictions in May and June as the number of cases and deaths fell. The epidemic has killed nearly 30,000 people in France.

Mr Castex, a low-profile former civil servant appointed by President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, faces the daunting task of masterminding France’s recovery from its worst health and economic crisis since the Second World War.

The crisis has wiped out the benefits of job creation attributed to Mr Macron’s business-friendly economic reforms over the past three years. Thousands of jobs are now being cut by the Airbus aircraft manufacturer, the carmaker Renault and other large companies, and the economy is expected to shrink by 9 per cent this year.

The government has pledged billions of euros in investments and measures to limit job losses

However, data published on Wednesday by the national statistics office (INSEE) indicated that the French economy is set to rebound sharply in the second half of the year. It suggests there is a chance that France could return to pre-coronavirus growth levels by December.

The epidemic halted Mr Macron’s fiercely contested reforms of France’s generous but convoluted pension system, which triggered months of protests and strikes. Mr Castex said his government would reopen talks about the plans with unions and employers within two weeks.