<p class="bodytext">Once an early adopter of the coronavirus-proof 'namaste' greeting, French President Emmanuel Macron was showing signs of letting his guard down almost a year into the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, three days before his office said he had tested positive for Covid-19, Macron greeted OECD chief Angel Gurria with a warm hand clasp in the Elysee palace courtyard, pulling the 70-year-old into a loose embrace, a Reuters picture shows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They were wearing masks, but Macron broke his government's no.1 pandemic rule: stick to what the French call "barrier gestures" and avoid handshakes, hugs and kisses.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"You know them, they save lives: barrier gestures are not an option!" Macron said in a tweet on July 12. His office did not return a request for comment about his welcome for Gurria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Macron was always very tactile before the pandemic, sharing hugs with leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and kissing and patting members of the public on the back.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In the past couple of weeks, the French leader fist-bumped EU counterparts at a summit in Brussels and greeted EU chief Charles Michel and Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez at the Elysee with pats on the back and elbows, TV footage shows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Now Sanchez, Michel and Gurria are self-isolating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Macron also hosted a lunch at the Elysee on Tuesday with about 20 parliamentary leaders and dined with a dozen lawmakers on Wednesday, parliamentary sources said, despite his government recommending no more than six guests at the table during end-of-year holidays.</p>.<p class="bodytext">That contrasted with his careful following of social-distancing guidelines earlier in the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In March, days before he put the nation on lockdown, he replaced the traditional handshake with the Indian-style namaste when he greeted Spain's king and queen in Paris, pressing his palms together and bowing slightly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He repeated the namaste greeting with Britain's Prince Charles on June 18 and maintained social distance outside 10 Downing Street with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Oct. 28, when he announced a second lockdown, he included himself among those who had let social distancing slip.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We should all have respected barrier gestures more, especially with family and friends," he said on TV. "Is now the time for regrets?"</p>
<p class="bodytext">Once an early adopter of the coronavirus-proof 'namaste' greeting, French President Emmanuel Macron was showing signs of letting his guard down almost a year into the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, three days before his office said he had tested positive for Covid-19, Macron greeted OECD chief Angel Gurria with a warm hand clasp in the Elysee palace courtyard, pulling the 70-year-old into a loose embrace, a Reuters picture shows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They were wearing masks, but Macron broke his government's no.1 pandemic rule: stick to what the French call "barrier gestures" and avoid handshakes, hugs and kisses.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"You know them, they save lives: barrier gestures are not an option!" Macron said in a tweet on July 12. His office did not return a request for comment about his welcome for Gurria.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Macron was always very tactile before the pandemic, sharing hugs with leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and kissing and patting members of the public on the back.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In the past couple of weeks, the French leader fist-bumped EU counterparts at a summit in Brussels and greeted EU chief Charles Michel and Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez at the Elysee with pats on the back and elbows, TV footage shows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Now Sanchez, Michel and Gurria are self-isolating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Macron also hosted a lunch at the Elysee on Tuesday with about 20 parliamentary leaders and dined with a dozen lawmakers on Wednesday, parliamentary sources said, despite his government recommending no more than six guests at the table during end-of-year holidays.</p>.<p class="bodytext">That contrasted with his careful following of social-distancing guidelines earlier in the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In March, days before he put the nation on lockdown, he replaced the traditional handshake with the Indian-style namaste when he greeted Spain's king and queen in Paris, pressing his palms together and bowing slightly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He repeated the namaste greeting with Britain's Prince Charles on June 18 and maintained social distance outside 10 Downing Street with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Oct. 28, when he announced a second lockdown, he included himself among those who had let social distancing slip.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We should all have respected barrier gestures more, especially with family and friends," he said on TV. "Is now the time for regrets?"</p>