Macron wants face masks mandatory indoors as virus picks up

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he supported making face masks mandatory in public indoor spaces to curtail the coronavirus pandemic, acknowledging that infections were again on the rise.

His comments -- in a television interview marking Bastille Day -- came after he oversaw the traditional military ceremony that was drastically downsized by the pandemic, and which put health workers centre-stage rather than soldiers.

"I would like to make masks mandatory in all enclosed public spaces," Macron said in the interview, a Bastille Day tradition he had shunned since taking office three years ago.

"We have indications that (the outbreak) is accelerating a bit."

He said in particular that the virus reproduction rate, the "R" ratio, had again risen above one in France, meaning that a single person infected with COVID-19 is likely spreading the disease to others.

Government officials are weighing the face mask requirement, which could come into force from August 1, he said.

Macron's comments come as doctors have warned of a potential second wave of infections, possibly in the coming weeks, which could again overwhelm hospitals and require new lockdowns that could further hammer the economy.

Asked whether France had enough face masks in case of a new spike in cases, following massive shortages as the outbreak worsened in March, Macron said: "We will be ready."

"We have secured both the stocks and the supply sources, and we are organised on the ground, to allow us to deal with an upsurge, if it comes," he said.

He also said the government's "massive" recovery plan would reach 100 billion euros ($114 billion), on top of more than 460 billion euros spent so far to limit the economic damage of a costly two-month lockdown.

Priority will be placed on investments to fight climate change, he said, such as increasing freight transport by rail instead of trucks and providing subsidies for improving energy efficiency in homes and public buildings. 

"I believe we can build a different country within the next 10 years," he said.

- Health workers honoured -
Fearing contagion risks, authorities called off the annual military parade along the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris that marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison that launched the French Revolution.

Instead, Macron presided a scaled-down gathering of just 2,000 soldiers -- half the usual number -- at the Place de la Concorde, where several dozen doctors, nurses and other careworkers were given pride of place.

Several were in tears as a military troupe saluted them with the national anthem "La Marseillaise" to close the ceremony, as Patrouille de France jets flew over trailing blue, white and red smoke.

Macron personally thanked several of them as a light rain began to fall, a day after his government agreed an eight billion euro ($8.5 billion) package of pay hikes for nurses and careworkers.

He then donned a face mask to visit with guests who included Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization.

- No crowds -
Despite the billions of euros pledged to minimise the economic damage, questions remain over how the government will foster recovery from a recession expected to destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Critics have accused the president of initially underestimating and then mishandling a crisis that has now caused more than 30,000 deaths in France.

And some health workers say the government has still not done enough -- protesters launched balloons near the Place de la Concorde bearing a banner reading "Behind the tributes, Macron is suffocating hospitals."

No crowds were allowed anywhere near the Concorde square to avoid contagion risks, and just 2,500 guests were invited to a ceremony where only two WWII tanks trundled noisily across the paving stones.

Large portions of Paris will remain closed Tuesday, including parks near the Eiffel Tower, to avoid crowds for the Bastille Day fireworks, and most other cities have called off their shows altogether.