Only hours after French president Emmanuel Macron implemented curfews in Paris and eight other cities across the country, Parliament President David Sassoli took to Twitter on Thursday morning to announce that “next week’s plenary will not take place in Strasbourg, but will instead be held remotely”. 

Much to the dismay of Macron and other French politicians, plans to return had already been cancelled twice, in September and early October, with sessions being moved to Brussels instead after Strasbourg and its surrounding areas had been dubbed red zones due to high numbers of covid-19 infections. 

However, Sassoli made sure to emphasize that “Strasbourg remains the seat of the Parliament” and that they would do everything in their power to return in due course.