France turns to speedy trains to catch up in virus response
Associated PressPARIS — The high-speed train whooshing past historic World War I battle zones and through the chateau-speckled Loire Valley carried a delicate cargo: 20 critically ill COVID-19 patients and the machines helping keep them alive. “This time it’s about saving public hospitals, which are going up in smoke at the same speed as Notre Dame almost did.” Many think Macron did not anticipate the severity with which the virus could hit and set a bad personal example. That same day he went with his wife to a Paris theater where the owner tweeted that the president wanted to show that “life goes on.” By then, the official virus infection numbers in France were doubling every two days. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen told France 2 television that “the government lied about the preparedness of the country,” while far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Macron, a former investment banker, “used to think that the free market would meet the country’s needs, so his mental framework collapsed.” Among the broader public, Macron “is seen as relatively authoritarian,” Levy said.