France’s pandemic death toll reaches six figures amid new surge

People wearing masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 cross the Bir Hakeim bridge in Paris (Michel Euler/PA)

France became the third country in Europe after the UK and Italy to reach the unwanted milestone of 100,000 Covid-19-related deaths as new infections and deaths surged due to virus variants.

The country of 67 million is the eighth nation in the world to reach the mark after a year of overwhelmed hospitals, on-and-off coronavirus lockdowns and enormous personal losses that have left families nationwide grieving the pandemic’s impact.