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FRANCE COULD EXTEND ITS CURRENT STATE OF HEALTH EMERGENCY TO OCTOBER THIS YEAR, THE GOVERNMENT HAS SAID, AFTER IT WAS ALREADY EXTENDED ONCE TO JULY 10. MPs will debate a possible further
extension on June 17. Maintaining a state of emergency means that prefects will continue to have the authority to make decisions designed to protect people’s health, including closing local
beaches and banning large gatherings such as festivals and concerts. A state of emergency also means that the government can introduce legislation “_par ordonnance_” if the health situation
demands, which means it can push laws through quickly, without requiring them to go through the usual parliamentary channels or votes. This could include measures such as requisitioning
medical staff, equipment, or even vehicles, to help fight the virus. One MP said: “Whether to allow the _Tour de France_ to go ahead is a question for the state of emergency. As are such
varied questions as managing borders, controlling the price of certain products, whether to reopen cinemas or commercial centres...all of which we will still need to be asking after July
11.” READ MORE: TOUR DE FRANCE 2020 POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 READ MORE: TOUR DE FRANCE 2020: WHAT IMPACT COVID-19? READ MORE: TRAVEL: WHAT DO BORDER REOPENINGS MEAN FOR FRANCE? SCIENTIFIC
ADVICE The Prime Minister’s office will base its position on advice from government scientific council _le Conseil Scientifique_, it said. A staff member in the Prime Minister’s entourage
TOLD NEWS SERVICE _FRANCEINFO_: "The question of an extension of the state of emergency will be decided in the light of health developments. We're not deciding anything
today." But another MP said that the extension appears “inevitable”, saying: “We must keep this toolbox of a state of emergency until after mid-July.” The government has not yet set a
deadline for ending the state of emergency. It has suggested that this could be extended until October, but the suspension of the Senate later in the autumn may mean it will be extended to
November. RELATED STORIES PHASE 2 DECONFINEMENT IN FRANCE: WHAT HAS CHANGED? DECONFINEMENT IN FRANCE: KEY JUNE AND SUMMER DATES COVID-19: FRANCE DECLARES STATE OF HEALTH EMERGENCY FRENCH
SENATE VOTES ‘CONDITIONS’ ON DECONFINEMENT BILL