PARIS: France will move up the start of its daily nationwide curfew to 6 p.m. from 8 p.m. from Saturday for at least 15 days to better combat the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.

Castex also told a news conference that there was no need for a new national lockdown for now but and that if the pandemic gets out of hand, France will lock down again.

The coronavirus has claimed more than 69,000 lives in France, the seventh highest death toll in the world.