France hits target of 10 million jabs
France has given a first jab of a vaccine against COVID-19 to 10 million people, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Thursday amid an acceleration in the rollout after a sluggish start.
"It's a very good performance. France is vaccinating a lot," Castex said after visiting an inoculation centre east of Paris, hailing the figure of 10 million first jabs one week ahead of a government target.
France fell behind its European neighbours after the start of vaccinations in January, but is now jabbing on average around 200,000-300,000 people per day.
EU members have faced a shortage of doses which has been blamed on a centralised purchasing and distribution system.
French President Emmanuel Macron has compared European efforts to a "diesel engine".
"It starts slowly but it goes far," he told Greece's ERT channel last month.
The government has forecast 20 million first time jabs by mid-May and 30 million by mid-June.
© 2021 AFP
