French health authorities reported 7,017 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, sharply up from Tuesday's 4,982 figure, and the third time since the beginning of the outbreak that the daily tally has stood above 7,000.
The number of people hospitalized for the disease, while still well below its April 14 peak of 32,292, has gone up for the fifth day running, at 4,632.
The number of people in France who have died from COVID-19 infections increased by 25 to 30,686, and the cumulative number of cases now totals 293,024.