France virus toll tops 20,000 after 547 new deaths: official

France on Monday announced that more than 20,000 people had now died from the coronavirus in the country after 547 new deaths, even as tentative signs grew that the epidemic was steadying

"Tonight, our country has passed a barrier that is symbolic and particularly painful," top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters, announcing a total death toll of 20,265 people while welcoming new falls in the numbers in hospital and intensive care.