Time for the verdict: Second round of municipal elections: the government is about to reveal its decision | Imaz Press Reunion: Reunion news in photos<

After failing to gather a political consensus on the date, Edouard Philippe and Christophe Castaner must make a statement to the press at 12:30 p.m. This second round could take place on June 28 in the 5,000 municipalities where the first round was not decisive, according to government sources quoted Thursday evening by various media, including BFMTV, France Info and Le Parisien.

The Scientific Council issued a cautious opinion, recommending that a new epidemic assessment be carried out 15 days before the date of the election. On the beach or in the parks, the temptation is great to want to enjoy the sun, forgetting the risk of a new wave of coronavirus and preferring to focus on health indicators that have been constantly improving since the start of deconfinement on May 11.

The balance sheet of the epidemic stood Thursday evening at at least 28,215 dead, with 83 new deaths recorded since the day before, according to the General Directorate of Health. The number of intensive care patients, an important indicator of the pressure on the hospital system, continued to decrease, with 1,745 serious cases in intensive care, or 49 fewer in 24 hours.

For the first time since the height of the crisis, New Aquitaine – one of the regions, however, the least affected – has no deaths, underlined the Regional Health Agency. A new cluster has been identified in Ile-de-France, the third since deconfinement, on the asbestos removal site of a (closed) high school in Villeneuve-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne). Nine employees out of thirty are infected, according to the prefecture of Val-de-Marne. The patients were placed in isolation, and the contact cases at risk placed in fortnight, while the site continued, according to the prefecture.

- Persistent health risks -

In the Mediterranean, beaches and bodies of water have continued to reopen, most often in "dynamic mode": no question of sitting down or building sandcastles, even less of lying down to sunbathe. However, there are exceptions, such as at La Grande-Motte on condition that you have reserved your location in advance, delimited by ropes. Ditto in Leucate, where you can stretch out on the beach for two hours, with five meters between each group.

Essential to protect yourself, hydroalcoholic gels and single-use surgical masks keep a regulated price until July 10, according to a decree published on Friday. The maximum price for non-reusable surgical masks is set at 95 cents per unit at retail, and 80 cents if sold wholesale.

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- Renault "plays its survival" -

In addition to the question of the second round of elections, the government continues to focus on the economic situation, which has suffered greatly from confinement and the health crisis. “There will be bankruptcies and there will be layoffs in the coming months”, warned the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire while the government intends to gradually reduce from June the support system for partial unemployment which had averted waves of layoffs so far.

The transport sector should in particular leave feathers there: the car manufacturer Renault must unveil on May 29 the outlines of a vast savings plan of two billion euros. The French automotive group, of which the State is a historic shareholder and owns 15% of the capital, "plays its survival", according to Mr. Le Maire.

The State must still give the green light to a loan of five billion euros which should allow the diamond to overcome the crisis. "What seems important to us is to know what is Renault's long-term strategy", declared Mr. Le Maire on Europe 1. "How do they guarantee us that tomorrow, electric vehicles will be located in France?

In any case, the industrial site of Flins, which employs 2,600 employees, "must not close", underlined the minister. Edouard Philippe assured that the government would present a plan for the automotive sector next week. And that he would be "intransigent on the preservation of sites (in) France".

The secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, lamented on Friday that the government "does not engage" while his union calls for a "general mobilization on employment" and that the crisis promises to be severe, in an interview published in Les Echos. AFP