Simon, 25 years old, waits in the observation room after receiving his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center in Paris, France, May 28, 2021. All adults over 18 years old can now make an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the French Health Ministry announced on Thursday.Photo:Xinhua

Nightclubs in France will be ordered to close for four weeks from this weekend to counter a COVID-19 surge that has put hospitals under severe strain, the prime minister said Monday.

Schoolchildren will also face stricter social distancing and extended use of face masks, with infection rates climbing among young people, said Jean Castex, who emerged from quarantine last week after contracting the virus.

But the government stopped short of imposing stricter measures for the general population or targeting the non-vaccinated, as several other countries have done in recent days.

Instead, Castex said employers should encourage staff to work from home and urged people to ease off social engagements such as office parties as the year-end holidays approach.

And health passes will now be required for eating venues in outdoor Christmas markets, he said.

"The situation demands an individual as well as a collective effort," Castex said in a televised address.

"But it's no longer the time for lockdowns," he said, citing a French vaccination rate of nearly 90 percent of the eligible population.

Vaccinations could also be extended to children aged 5 to 12, he said, and the over-65s will no longer need appointments to get booster shots.

Several new vaccination centers will be opened in Paris over the coming days as current sites struggle to meet demand across major cities - some 10 million people already having received booster jabs.

Nightclub owners reacted furiously to the new shutdown, having already been closed for most of winter 2020 and spring before reopening in July.

Nearly all of the analyzed virus cases in France involve the Delta variant, which has proved more infectious even among vaccinated people. 

AFP