While many of France’s residents already expected new measures, the government says it wants to avoid this option for now. Following a security council meeting on the morning of 29 December, French health minister Olivier Véran told France 2 that, "We are going to propose an extension of the curfew," adding that the proposed curfew would start at 6pm in all areas where necessary.

He then cited the four areas where the situation is "more problematic": the Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and the Alpes-Maritimes department. More specifically, around 20 regions would be affected according to several French media outlets. These would include all of the Grand Est except the Bas-Rhin (Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, Haut-Rhin, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges), of all Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, except Côte d'Or (Doubs, Jura, Nièvre, Haut-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne, Territoire de Belfort), Ardèche and Allier in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-Maritimes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

From January 2 and until further notice

The government has yet to discuss this proposal with elected officials, prefects and regional health agencies. The final list of the territories concerned should then be revealed on 1 January, for an implementation of the advanced curfew the next day, 2 January. This would then last "the time necessary to verify that there is a stabilisation or even an improvement in the health situation".

Out of 84,370 new positive cases for covid-19 in France between December 19-25, 11,201 were recorded in the Grand Est according to the report of December 28 of the regional health agency concerned. Several mayors in the east had already called on the government to take the necessary measures, notably Nancy's Mathieu Klein. He considers the extnded curfew a "late measure, which may prove insufficient".

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.