France to impose 8 pm curfew from December 15, including New Year's Eve: PM Jean Castex

French Prime Minister Jean Castex. Credit: Reuters photo.

France will lift a six-week-long nationwide coronavirus lockdown on December 15 but impose a curfew from 8 pm, including on New Year's Eve, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Thursday.

Castex said that families would be allowed travel to celebrate Christmas together but said that museums, theatres and cinemas would remain closed for an extra three weeks as the number of new Covid-19 infections begins to slowly rise again.