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Did you know French police can check your home when you are away?
Here is how to sign up for the service, as well as a special check for elderly people. Plus, advice on how to avoid ‘fake police’ scams
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MAP: Which areas of Paris have had the biggest property price drops?
Drops of around 10% (up to €1,100 less per m2 in real terms) have been seen in several arrondissements. Only one has not seen a significant drop
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Eight scams doing the rounds this summer in France
Summer travel means one thing: More scammers, especially on the roads and at transport hubs. Here are tips to avoid falling victim
SEE: big rise in Covid cases registered in France in a week
GPs identify nearly 100,000 new cases in seven days - many of which are the new variant JN.1
![Mongkolchon Akesin / Shutterstock / Visactu](https://image.connexionfrance.com/640371.webp?imageId=640371&width=960&height=542&format=jpg)
The winter Covid-19 spike continues to grow, with GPs identifying nearly 100,000 new cases in one week. We look at the data in a graph and the regions affected.
The number of new cases has been increasing for five weeks, with 93,757 people diagnosed between December 4 and 10.
The current spike in Covid-19 cases seen by GPs is higher than it was in December 2021, however, bear in mind that this may well be a statistical anomaly, since home and pharmacy testing was far more prevalent during that period.
Nonetheless, Covid-19 cases are rising with 5,428 people receiving emergency care in hospital and 2,221 hospitalised during the week ending December 10. Covid-19 cases represent 3% of hospital admissions nationally according to Santé France.
Read more: Covid France: How testing now works as cases rise again
Where are people being hospitalised for Covid-19?
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Nationally, 3% of hospitalisations are related to Covid-19, however this is higher in the east, the south-east and in Corsica.
A new variant in circulation
![](https://image.connexionfrance.com/640362.webp?imageId=640362&width=960&height=906&format=jpg)
While there may be some statistical factors that skew this rise, such as people with Covid symptoms no longer using home tests, there is also a new variant in circulation: JN.1.
However, Bruno Lina, professor of virology at Hospices Civils de Lyon, states that the JN.1 variant is no more dangerous than previous Omicron variants of Covid.
“We are seeing this lineage is progressively replacing all the others,” he told BFMTV. “Now it accounts for 50% of all infections in France.”
Read more: What is known about the new Covid subvariant spreading through France?
“However, the symptomatology of the Omicron variants remains the same: an upper respiratory tract infection, with more complicated cases affecting vulnerable and elderly people."
While the new JN.1 variant may be more able to evade immunity conferred by previous infections with different strains of Covid, a recent US study suggested that mRNA vaccine boosters are effective in creating “robust neutralising antibodies” against J.N1.
The mRNA vaccine boosters are currently in use in France as part of the government’s Covid booster campaign.
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