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Coronavirus: French health minister's home searched in COVID-19 response investigation

Police are investigating officials over complaints the government was too slow to roll out testing, and also shortages of masks.

French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran leaves the Elysee presidential palace after attending the weekly cabinet meeting on June 10, 2020 in Paris. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Image: Olivier Veran's home has been searched by police
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The home and office of France's health minister Olivier Veran have been searched by police, as part of an investigation into the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Officers also searched the homes of ex-prime minister Edouard Philippe and former health minister Agnes Buzyn, as well as other top officials.

The investigation into the handling of the pandemic has been ordered by a special court in France.

Patients, prison staff and police officers have filed 90 complaints in the last few months, largely over shortages of masks and other equipment and the speed in which large-scale COVID-19 testing was rolled out.

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 14: The empty courtyard of the Louvre museum and the pyramid of Louvre are seen without tourists on October 14, 2020 in Paris, France. Deserted since the reopening of its doors on Monday, July 6, the most visited museum in the world is idling due to the absence of foreign tourists due to the epidemic of Coronavirus (Covid 19). French President Emmanuel Macron announced on television this evening a curfew for Ile-de-France and eight metropolises between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday  to tackle a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak  across France. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Image: Paris is subject to more curfew measures

It comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron announced curfews in Paris and other major cities, including Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Saint Etienne and Toulouse, with the measures lasting for four weeks, starting on Saturday.

It means people cannot go to restaurants or visit friends, but there will be no restrictions on public transport or on travel between regions.

France reported 22,591 new daily cases on Wednesday - the third time in six days that the daily total has surpassed 20,000.

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COVID-19 patients also occupy a third of the country's intensive care beds.

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Speaking on French television, Mr Macron said the situation was "worrying" but the country had not yet "lost control" of the pandemic. He did, however, say the country was experiencing a second wave.

Mr Macron went on to say that anyone breaking the curfew rules would be fined €135 (£122).