Visual: Drop in Covid cases in France, especially among young children

Cases of Covid-19 are falling in France and are lower than at the same period last year, despite the risks of a new super-spreading variant.

Health authorities note however that the biggest drop in Covid-19 cases is among the age 0-4 range, and cases remain stable among other groups. 

Much has been made of the new XFG or ‘Frankenstein’ variant of the virus, which saw cases increase rapidly in September. 

The strain is a combination of several previous variants (hence the name) and said to spread significantly more easily than previous mutations.

Symptoms of the variant include:

• Sore throat 

• Coughing

• Runny nose and sneezing

• Fatigue

• Body pain

• Headaches

• Fever

• Digestive problems

• Shortness of breath

However, symptoms of a loss of taste and smell typically associated with previous variants are rarer.

However, recent data from Santé Publique France (covering the week October 6 to October 12) shows a drop in reported Covid-19 cases in France, with a rate of 43 cases per 100,000 people. 

This is down from over 50 cases per 100,000 last month.

The number of hospitalisations remains steady, but the rate of less severe cases among the general public is falling. 

At the same time, a very slight increase in the number of deaths attributed to the virus – outside of hospitals – has been recorded.

Following several weeks of increases, analysis of Covid-19 in wastewater (used to assess the prevalence of the virus across France) has stabilised. 

The full bulletin, released on October 15, can be downloaded here.

The winter 2025/2026 vaccination campaign for flu and Covid-19 started last week in France. 

Authorities are hoping to avoid a ‘triple threat’ of Covid-19, flu, and bronchitis hospitalisations over the winter period, which in recent years has threatened to overwhelm hospitals.