PARIS": France could "at any moment" lose control over the spread of the coronavirus, the government's Covid-19 scientific council warned Tuesday as official data showed the first rise in intensive care patients since April.

In an opinion prepared for policy-makers, the council warned "the virus has recently been circulating more actively, with an increased loss of distancing and barrier measures" since France, one of the hardest-hit countries, emerged from a strict two-month lockdown in May.

"The balance is fragile and we can change course at any time to a less controlled scenario like in Spain, for example," it said. And the council warned of a possible "resumption of circulation of the virus at a high level" by autumn 2020, after the August summer holidays.