PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday blamed his COVID-19 for a combination of negligence and bad luck, and urged his compatriots to stay safe as critics called for their behavior to prevent infection. handshake at repeated meals by large groups over the past week.
In what appeared to be a self-taught video of the presidential retreat from Versailles where he isolated himself with symptoms including headaches, fatigue and dry cough, Macron promised to give daily updates and be “completely transparent” about the course of his illness.
“I’m doing well,” he said, speaking softly and dressed casually with a high-necked collar. “Normally, there’s no reason for it to evolve badly.”
The 42-year-old French leader said his infection “proves that the virus can affect anyone, because I am very protected and I am very careful.”
“Still I caught this virus, maybe definitely a moment of neglect, a moment of bad luck as well,” he said.
A first European leader who spent time with Macron at an EU summit last week, Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, tested positive for the virus on Friday. Some other leaders present at the summit reported that the tests were negative, while some were not tested and others have not yet announced the results of their tests.
In France, Macron faced criticism for actions that were considered a bad example, as the country sees a new rise in confirmed cases and doctors warn families to take precautions this holiday season, especially at the dinner table .
Although Macron usually wears a mask and adheres to the rules of social distancing and has insisted that his anti-virus strategy is science-directed, the president has been caught on camera in recent days in violation of French control guidelines. of the virus.
He shook hands and half-hugged the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, at a meeting Monday. Both were masked, but Macron’s office acknowledged Friday that the measure was a “mistake.”
Last week, Macron spent two days in intense negotiations at the EU summit in Brussels with the leaders of the other 26 member countries. Video excerpts published by the EU showed that the leaders were distributed in a circle in a huge meeting room: Macron and most of the other leaders were not masked.
Macron also organized or participated in several meals of numerous groups in the days leading up to positive Thursday, including members of his centrist party and rival politicians, while the French are currently advised to avoid meetings of more than six people. His office has contacted attendees for food, but told some people sitting away from the president that they did not consider themselves at risk.
Macron’s office does not provide details of his treatment. He stays at the presidential residence of La Lanterne, in the former royal city of Versailles, hidden in a grove heavily guarded by police.
Macron’s positive test comes as French health authorities see infections rise again and alert them as French families prepare to gather for the Christmas and New Year holidays. France reported another 18,254 new infections on Thursday and the death toll is just under 60,000.
The Institut Pasteur in France published a study on Friday suggesting that meals at home and in public are a major source of pollution. Epidemiologist Pasteur Arnaud Fontanet told France-Inter radio on Friday that, during the holidays, “we can see each other, just not being too numerous, and at critical moments of meals, not too many people at the same table.”
Macron did a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared” on Thursday morning and will be isolated for seven days, according to recommendations from national health authorities, the presidency said. Macron plans to continue working and continued with a speech scheduled for video conference on Thursday.
The French health minister suggested Macron may have been infected at the EU summit in Brussels last week, but Macron also had several meetings in Paris.
France had the first case of a virus in Europe in January, but the Macron government was criticized for not having enough masks or evidence and for not confining the population quickly enough. A strict two-month closure brought down infections and France returned children to school and parents to work.
But infections rose again this fall, so he declared a new softer closure in October with the aim of easing pressure on hospitals. Measures have eased slightly this week, although restaurants, tourist sites, gyms and some other facilities remain closed.
___
Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France. Karel Janicek in Prague, Catherine Gaschka in Paris and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.