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Covid : Macron positif, l’UE cas contact

We remember that the night had been long in Brussels. Between Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December, the 27 EU leaders negotiated step by step to deliver in the early hours of historic progress (post-Covid recovery, reduction of CO emissions2, sanctions against Turkey…). For hours, they multiplied the meetings in small groups, improvised one-on-one. In the middle of this assembly, Emmanuel Macron, faithful to his habits, did not save himself. On the photos published by the press agencies, we see the French president who is busy, sometimes forgetting, because of fatigue, the barrier gestures.

Angela Merkel, Charles Michel and Emmanuel Macron during the European Council of December 10 and 11, 2020 © European Council / Pool / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP

These images take on another meaning today. The Élysée announced this Thursday, December 17 that Emmanuel Macron had been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 after having developed symptoms, according to the press release from the presidency. Was he already positive 7 days ago? Or did he contract the virus himself during the European Council? It is quite possible, in many cases, the incubation period of Covid-19 is seven days and it is simply after this time that symptoms appear.

We imagine that the press release from the Élysée threw a chill in the capitals of the EU. Immediately, Pedro Sanchez, the president of the Spanish government, announced that he was going to isolate himself until the end of the year celebrations. According to our information, the President of the European Council, the Belgian Charles Michel, will ask all EU heads of state and government to also quarantine themselves. He himself was placed in solitary confinement, he met Emmanuel Macron again on December 14. The EU is temporarily on hiatus, its leaders forced into self-isolation.

Emmanuel Macron slaps Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on the back. © OLIVIER MATTHYS / POOL / AFP

Among the European leaders, it is the President of Cyprus Níkos Anastasiádis, who could be the case most at risk, given his age, 74. Others are less worried, such as Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov: he had the Covid last October. But proof that the virus is virulent, this 61-year-old colossus was very affected and took a long time to recover. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been pleading for days for her country to adopt stronger measures in the face of the epidemic, will again have to be tested. So far, it has always been negative.

“There wasn’t a single clue that he might be sick! “

In France, in addition to Prime Minister Jean Castex who has placed himself in solitary confinement, the entire majority will have to be tested. According to information from Point, Emmanuel Macron brought together the tenors of LREM and MoDem on Wednesday evening until half past midnight at the Élysée. “He was in good shape and had no symptoms, there wasn’t a single clue that he might be sick! We didn’t even talk about it, ”says one participant. A few hours later, the head of state however tested positive and presented symptoms, according to the press release from the Elysee. A situation all the more worrying for the guests as it is in the 48 hours preceding the onset of the effects of the Covid that the subjects are most likely to contaminate those around them.

While waiting to know how France and Europe will organize themselves in the face of this unprecedented situation, this positive diagnosis brings Emmanuel Macron into the circle of heads of state and government who have had Covid-19. Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Jaïr Bolsonaro… The next on the list could therefore be a European.

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