<span style="color: #222222;">French Prime Minister Jean Castex told yesterday that France had entered a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the seven-day average of new cases rose above 25,000 for the first time since Nov 20. French health authorities reported 29,975 new cases yesterday, a 4.5% jump versus last Tuesday's totaland the sharpest week-on-week rise in a month and a half.<br />'' <br />'' France is grappling with a steady rise of new cases, leading to a heavy strain on the country's hospital system, which prominent health experts say can be tackled only by a new lockdown. Like other EU countries, France has lagged far behind India, United States or Britain in vaccinating its population.<br />'' <br />'' President Emmanuel Macron is still hoping a vaccination drive can stave off the effects of a new pandemic wave triggered by more contagious variants, and thus prevent France from resorting to a third national lockdown.<br />'' <br />'' But suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, announced on Monday over safety concerns, could jeopardise the government's strategy.<br />'' <br />'' With 4.11 million people infected since the start of the outbreak, France has the sixth-highest case count in the world and it has the world's seventh-highest death toll at 91,170 fatalities.</span>