-
EU looks to increase Etias travel authorisation fee from €7 to €20
Second-home owners and other visitors from the UK and US will need this from autumn 2026
-
What dangerous snakes are in France and what to do if you spot one
Anyone killing a snake risks a fine and potentially a prison sentence
-
Ryanair says flights over France must be protected from air traffic controller strikes
Strikes at start of the month cost airlines over €100 million as budget airline claims workers ‘wanted time off’
Asterix 'predicted' coronavirus
Did Asterix predict the coronavirus outbreak?

That is the claim that some people have been making on social media after they picked up on a familiarly-named character from a 2017 comic book – Asterix and the Chariot Race.
In the book, by the new Asterix artist-writer duo Didier Conrad and Jean-Yves Ferri, the popular ancient Gaulish characters Asterix and Obelix enter an international race in which their main rival for first prize is a masked driver called Coronavirus.
Coronavirus, who has the same name in the original French and in the English translation, is the Roman entrant and Roman leader Julius Caesar puts pressure on the organisers to let him win for the honour of Rome.
He is acclaimed by the crowds who yell his name, but as usual the Gaulish heroes thwart Caesar’s plans.
Commentators wondered if the Asterix authors were psychic, showing the characters defeating 'Cornonavirus' years before the word became a household name.
Astérix est un visionnaire ! #coronavirus #asterix pic.twitter.com/coaobSZPb8
— Fabien Lebas (@FabienLebas) February 8, 2020
In reality however the word has existed since the 1960s as a scientific term.
There are many kinds of coronavirus, such as the SARS virus that hit headlines in 2002-2003, or the current one known formally as COVID-19.
They are so-called because of the crown-like shape of the viruses when viewed under a microscope.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France