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7.29pm GMT
France will start easing its Covid-19 lockdown this weekend so that by Christmas, shops, theatres and cinemas will re-open and people will be able to spend the holiday with the rest of their family, French president Emmanuel Macron has said.
In a televised address to the nation, Macron said the worst of the second wave of the epidemic in France was over, but that restaurants, cafes and bars would have to stay shut until 20 January to avoid triggering a third wave.
From 15 December:
*lockdown lifted can travel between regions and spend Xmas with family
*inside extra curricular school activities can resume
•avoid unnecessary travel. Not Xmas holidays “as before”
*Cinema, theatres museums to open with extra health controls
7.06pm GMT
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