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France s president Emmanuel Macron is suffering a fever, a cough and fatigue and has a military doctor at his bedside in Versailles after catching coronavirus, it emerged today.
Macron, 42, said he is doing fine while staying at a residence called La Lanterne after testing positive for Covid-19 in a result which sparked frantic contact-tracing among EU leaders.
The Elysee s chief physician Jean-Christophe Perrochon is staying with Macron during his quarantine, according to Le Parisien, while first lady Brigitte Macron, 67, is isolating separately in Paris.
While Macron is in a younger age group than most world leaders and is not known to have any medical problems, he had already developed symptoms by the time his diagnosis was announced on Thursday.
Emmanuel Macron has raised eyebrows among several compatriots who have suggested he was careless in the days leading up to his coronavirus diagnosis.
The French president tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and has since taken himself to a retreat in Versailles to isolate. He later said he was feeling well , despite developing a dry cough, fever and fatigue.
Prior to this, however, Macron s calendar week was particularly busy, and included multiple face-to-face meetings, lunches and dinners - at least one of which appeared to break his own rules.
Emmanuel Macron greets OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria at the Elysee PalaceMichel Euler/AP
Coronavirus: What does Emmanuel Macron s infection mean for other EU leaders?
French President Macron has contracted COVID and is self-isolating. But what will happen to other EU leaders who also attended last week’s Brussels summit?
It was not immediately clear where French President Macron contracted the coronavirus. But one possibility could be during marathon talks last Thursday and Friday at a European Union summit over the bloc s budget and climate targets. If that s the case, it would be a worst-case scenario for the summit organizers.
Sufficient safety measures?
Since the onset of the pandemic, European Council staff has done its utmost to reduce the risk of heads of state and government contracting or spreading the coronavirus. Masks are mandatory, social distancing is enforced and delegations have been reduced to an absolute minimum. Decision-makers are now limited to five advisers. Handshaking has been substituted with touching elbows, bowing and other greetings