66.1 Overall Score

France

  • 29.9 Public Health
    Directives
  • 52.7 Financial
    Response
  • 100 Fact-Based
    Communication
  • 29.9 Public Health
    Directives
  • 52.7 Financial
    Response
  • 100 Fact-Based
    Communication

France maintained its improved public health policy from the early fall, keeping its score relatively strong, although poor contact tracing and a relatively small stimulus package kept it from being higher.

Pre-COVID Conditions

France had relatively strong socio-economic and healthcare capacity pre-pandemic, including a robust universal healthcare system (generally seen as one of the best in the world), minimal debt, and a very healthy population.

  • Debt/GDP ratio 98.4%
  • GDP/capita $48,640
  • Gini coefficient (out of 100) 31.6
  • Infant mortality rate (out of 1,000 live births) 3
  • Healthcare access score (out of 100) 87.9
  • Hospital beds/1,000 People 46.7

Government Response

Select a data point for more information
(Data points represent policy level as of Aug 1.)
29.9

Public Health Directives

France has a relatively weak public health policy score, largely due to a relaxed stay-at-home policy, limited testing and contact tracing, and relatively little emergency healthcare spending.

  • Stay at home order 1
  • Public gathering restrictions 1
  • School closings 0
  • Public event cancellations 2
  • Testing policy 2
  • Emergency healthcare investments/capita $67.41
  • Travel restrictions 0
  • Tests/1,000 people 1.1
  • Contact tracing 2
52.7

Financial Response

France’s financial response includes generous debt forbearance and income support for both employed and unemployed workers.

  • Financial stimulus as share of GDP 10.4%
  • Income support 2
  • Debt forebearance 1
100

Fact-Based Communication

High-level health officials have provided regular press briefings, first daily and then weekly and monthly.

  • Reliance on science/fact based information 0
  • Press freedom 0

COVID-19 Status as of Aug 1

Despite a high death rate, France has kept its confirmed cases of coronavirus relatively low, likely attributable to its testing a wide range of the population, resulting in its relatively strong current status; its poor public health policies might explain the much higher death rate.

  • Total deaths 30,265
  • Death rate per 100K 463.7
  • Total cases 187,919
  • Cases per 100K 2,879
  • Percent of positive tests 1.4
Case Trend Line
Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown Level 2 Lockdown
Date Status New Cases/1M
1 Jun 02 Restaurants and bars reopen for outdoor dining 14.91
2 Jun 22 Nursery schools, primary schools, and junior high schools reopen 6.91

Differentiating Factors

Compared with Neighboring Countries
  • 65.6
    Italy 247,537
    Cases     4,094
    Per 1M     35,141
    Deaths

    While hit hard by COVID-19, Italy’s reliance on facts and improved contact tracing has helped slow the spread and slightly improved its overall score since January.

  • 67.2
    Germany 209,653
    Cases     2,502
    Per 1M     9,141
    Deaths

    Germany has improved its score a bit in the past few months, after a sharp decline in the fall. Its improvements in contact tracing, which are already likely underestimated in the data, and restrictions on public gatherings, have played important roles in this turnaround, although there has been a recent spike in cases, likely due to both recent restriction relaxations and vaccine rollout issues.

  • 45.8
    Spain 288,522
    Cases     6,171
    Per 1M     28,445
    Deaths

    Spain's score jumped since January to just over the median, having implemented stricter public health policies, but the country's minimal stimulus support still drags down its overall score.

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New Zealand

Statistics and government response factors available on each country profile include:

Pre-COVID Conditions:

  • Debt to GDP ratio
  • Infant mortality rates
  • Hospital beds per 1,000 people
  • Gini coefficients measuring inequality
  • Health access and quality

COVID-19 Public Health Directives:

  • Stay-at home orders
  • School-closing policy
  • Public-gathering restrictions
  • Cancellation of public events
  • Testing policy and rates per 1,000 people
  • Emergency healthcare spending per capita
  • Travel restrictions
  • Contact tracing

COVID-19 Financial Response:

  • Stimulus package as a share of GDP
  • Income support
  • Debt-forbearance

Public Communications:

  • Instances of misinformation by leadership
  • Limitations on press freedom, censorship

Current/Historic In-Country COVID-19 Status:

  • Death rates per 1 million
  • Case rates per 1 million