French Covid Cases Hit 3 Million Amid Talk of New Lockdown

France passed the threshold of 3 million Covid-19 cases on Friday, as an acceleration in the spread of the virus prompted warnings from the government that a third lockdown is possible.

Confirmed cases rose by 23,292 on Friday to 3.01 million, less than a year after the country reported its first infection. The seven-day rolling average of new cases, which smooths out fluctuations, has been climbing most of January to reach 19,759 from just over 13,000 at the start of the month.