Filenews 17 December 2020 - by gavriella
French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, his office said on Thursday (December 17), sparking a track and trace effort targeting EU leaders and senior officials who met him in recent days.
Macron would self-isolate for the next seven days and would continue to run the country remotely. His wife Brigitte was also self-isolating.
Macron attended a European summit late last week at which he met a host of EU leaders to discuss the European Union’s budget, climate change and Turkey.
While the leaders were gathering in the summit room and initially mingling with their face masks on, they take them off once they sit down for talks, although remain quite far apart at their round table.
Macron and his wife Brigitte also hosted a private dinner with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, during which he awarded him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
This week, Macron had lunch with European Council President Charles Michel as well as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
Sanchez’s office said he would quarantine until Dec. 24. An EU spokesman said Michel would self-isolate as a precaution.
Macron was also photographed shaking hands with OECD chief Angel Gurria, who is 70.
(Reuters)
