French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus, the presidential Elysee Palace revealed on Thursday.
Not commenting on what symptoms Macron was undergoing, it said that he took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared”.
Elysee Palace further said in its brief statement that the president will isolate himself for seven days.
“He will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” it added.
However, it was not clear what contract tracing process was being followed.
Macron attended a European Union summit at the end of last week, where he notably had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He met Wednesday with the prime minister of Portugal. There was no immediate comment from Portuguese officials.
On Wednesday, the French President also carried out the weekly cabinet meeting, where Prime Minister Jean Castex was present besides other ministers. According to Castex’s office, the prime minister is also self-isolating for seven days.
The French presidency confirmed that Macron's trip to Lebanon scheduled for next week is being cancelled.
Macron and other government officials repeatedly say that they are sticking to strict sanitary protocols during the pandemic, including not shaking hands, wearing a mask and keeping distance from other people.
The president is following French health authorities' recommendations that since September have reduced the self-isolation time from 14 days to seven. Authorities said at the time that this is the period when there is the greatest risk of contagion and that reducing it allows better enforcement of the measure.
French health authorities argued this week that the 14-day quarantine was not well-respected by many in the country who considered it too long.