Bastille Day: France pays tribute to health heroes as Emmanuel Macron backs face masks indoors

France is to make it compulsory to wear masks in shops and other closed public space by next month, said President Emmanuel Macron.

His pledge came as the nation honoured its health workers in a special Bastille Day parade where doctors and nurses shared the limelight with soldiers.

"I would like to make masks mandatory in all enclosed public spaces," said Mr Macron as he renewed the tradition of the presidential July 14 televised interview, shunned since he took office three years ago.

"We have indications that (the outbreak) is accelerating a little,” he said, pointing out that the R number indicating the virus reproduction rate had risen above the watermark figure of one.

As a result, he said the mask requirement could come into force from August 1.

His comments came after French doctors warned of a potential second wave of infections as the French relax strict social distancing and protective measures in the holiday season.

The Macron administration came under fierce criticism in March for having virtually no stocks of protective masks and then telling the general public that wearing them was pointless - before making a U-turn weeks later.

This time, the French president insisted: "We will be ready."

"We have secured both the stocks and the supply sources, and we are organised on the ground, to allow us to deal with an upsurge, if it comes," he said.

He also pledged a fresh bailout package of €100 billion euros to help the battered French economy, saying that forecasts of up to a million jobs losses by next Spring were likely. The president had already pledged €460bn to limit economic damage.

Among the beneficiaries are embattled nurses and care workers, who his government on Monday pledged to pay an extra €183 (£165) per month as part of an €8 billion overhaul.

Bastille Day is normally a time for the military to flex its muscles in a dazzling parade down the Champs-Elysées followed by an evening of spectacular fireworks.

But for the first time since 1945, the ceremony made way for frontline health workers treated to a vibrant Marseillaise and whose fight against the epidemic Mr Macron likened to “a war”.

The usual crowds were kept away as troops and armoured vehicles paraded to mark the 1789, storming of the Bastille fortress that launched the French Revolution.

Meanwhile, half the usual number of soldiers, some 2,000, gathered at the Place de la Concorde before 2,500 guests carefully spaced out to respect social distancing.

As usual, the Patrouille de France painted the sky red, white and blue in two tricolour flyovers.

But in a rare sight, British Typhoons also flew in joint formation with their Gallic counterparts over central Paris in homage to Charles de Gaulle on the 80th anniversary of his historic London appeal for French resistance against Nazi occupation.

The main focus, however, was the battle against the virus that also involved the French military in the country’s worst crisis since the Second World War.

Instead of world leaders, many of the guests were doctors and nurses but also supermarket and nursing home workers on the front line to keep France going during its draconian nationwide lockdown. Families of medical workers who died from the virus were also in the stands.

Mr Macron paid tribute to the army for building a field hospital and ferrying patients in cargo jets or specially fitted high-speed trains.

In his interview, Mr Macron hinted that he may postpone his flagship pension reform that sparked record-long strikes and was put on hold during the Covid crisis.

While it would eventually be needed, he said his main focus was the economy and jobs particular for the young.

The French president pledged to create 300,000 special new contracts for them, in addition to 100,000 new contracts for the national volunteer service in the coming months.

He also responded to concerns raised by feminists following the appointment of interior minister Gerald Darmanin, who is being investigated for rape, saying it was vital to respect the presumption of innocence.

Failure to do so could lead to an “Anglo-Saxon” penchant for allowing public opinion to act as judge and jury, he warned.

Later Tuesday, parks near the Eiffel Tower were due be closed to avoid crowds for the Bastille Day fireworks in Paris, and most other cities have called off their shows completely.