Coronavirus France: Macron's 5,000-a-day cases target is impossible, scientific adviser says

French lockdown restrictions due to come into force Friday morning at 00:01am Emmanuel Macron's target of slashing France's coronavirus infections to 5,000 a day is impossible to achieve in the month-long lockdown he announced last night, his top scientific adviser said today. French leader Emmanuel Macron last night announced a new nationwide lockdown, claiming that 400,000 people will die of coronavirus if the country does nothing to control a second wave that will be 'more deadly' than the first Europe's infection rate has surged ahead of America's for the first time since March, although cases are also rising again in the US just days before voters decide whether to give Donald Trump a second term Europe's resurgent death rates are on the brink of overtaking America's for the first time since April, with France among the countries now seeing hundreds of deaths on a regular basis again Macron announced the lockdown in a televised address from the Elysee Palace last night, saying that failing to act would lead to as many as 400,000 extra deaths from coronavirus French PM Jean Castex said today that the compulsory mask age was being lowered from 11 to six after Macron announced that schools were staying open. The current US figures are better than much of Western Europe, although not Germany People enjoy a drink on a restaurant terrace shortly before the 9pm city-wide night time curfew tonight, as France prepares to lockdown on Friday morning French bar goers watch as Macron delivers his speech, plunging the country into lockdown until December 1 The first lockdown brought cases down to below 1,000 per day in the summer, but France has seen one of the most dramatic resurgences in the second wave sweeping across Europe. Italian police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators at Piazza del Popolo during a protest against the lockdown, in Rome, tonight Italian police form a wall with riot shields as crowds of protestors clash with authorities in Rome, Italy, tonight Protesters took to the streets of Berlin on Wednesday to demand more support for the government, even as Angela Merkel plunged the whole country back into a 'lockdown lite' A coffin is driven past the Reichstag building, as entertainment workers demand more support for the 'dying' industry A wave of anti-lockdown protests have swept Europe as governments impose harsher lockdowns to curb the resurgence of coronavirus People gather during a demonstration on October 28, 2020 in Barcelona against the closure imposed by the regional government on bars, restaurants and clubs Protesters are seen at a demonstration on October 28 in Barcelona, Spain against the closure imposed by the regional government on bars, restaurants and clubs Hospitals in Aragon, Catalonia and Madrid, Castille and Leon, Navarra, Rioja, and Ceuta are all around 40 per cent full, according to La Vanguardia. Protesters clashed with police on the streets of Rome overnight in the fifth straight night of unrest in Italy over new coronavirus curfews Italy introduced an overnight curfew in Rome to try and slow the spread of coronavirus, amid fears that tougher measures could follow Protesters in Rome took over the Piazza del Popolo on Tuesday night until they were dispersed by police dressed in riot uniforms Police move in to clear protesters from the streets of Rome on Tuesday night, following similar demonstrations earlier in the week in Milan and Naples Protesters burned wheelie bins and set off fireworks in the Spanish city of Seville overnight to protest against coronavirus curfews A man watches fireworks go off in Seville, to protest against new coronavirus curfews Spain has also announced fresh curfews and raised the prospect of another nationwide lockdown after cases soared and deaths continued to creep upwards Italy announced coronavirus curfews for major cities including Rome, Naples and Milan this week, after coronavirus cases began rising sharply and deaths also began to mount A restaurant-owner in Rome leaves a skeleton sitting outside his establishment, to protest the industry being 'killed off' by the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic Top chefs and restaurant owners from Venice, Italy, gather around empty place settings in the Campo Santo Stefano after the government announced fresh hospitality curfews A man wears a protective face mask as taxi drivers in Barcelona protest falling demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns In Belgium, which has the most cases per capita in the world, the number of coronavirus hospital admissions all but matched the level in the first wave in the spring, public health institute showed.