France unveils big budget as virus cases worsen

France launched a free-spending budget plan saying a new spike in COVID-19 cases justified its unprecedented loosening of the purse strings.

After 460 billion euros ($537 billion) of emergency spending this year to save the economy from the virus fallout, the government built its 2021 budget around a 100 billion euro “recovery plan”, first announced this month and partly funded by EU money.

The budget came after France’s health services Saturday reported 14,412 new virus cases over the previous 24 hours – only slightly lower than the record 16,000 registered on both Thursday and Friday.

The spike threatens to overwhelm hospitals, health officials warned, while the government imposed fresh curbs to limit the spread of the virus, including on restaurants, bars and sports facilities.