COVID-19: It's time to ease coronavirus lockdown, says French PM

French PM Edouard Philippe. (Credit: Reuters Photo)

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday that a lockdown imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had saved 62,000 lives in a month, but that keeping the restrictions in place would mean risking economic collapse.

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Speaking in parliament, he said it was time to explain to the country how the lockdown would gradually be eased. French citizens will have to learn to live with the virus and to protect themselves, he said.