Paris, Oct 17 (TIWN) As part of an enquiry into the French governments handling of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, police on Thursday searched the personal residence of Health Minister Olivier Veran.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said that Thursday morning's search operations had taken place "without difficulty", while legal proceedings were underway.  The enquiry was triggered after Covid-19 victims accused the government officials of being too slow to act to check the spread of the virus, the BBC report added.  This development comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that a curfew will be introduced in big cities as a reaction to the recent resurgence of new cases.  Starting from Friday midnight, a four-week 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew will be imposed in the greater Paris region and the eight major cities of Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Rouen, Toulouse, Montpellier and Saint-Etienne, Xinhua news agency reported.  These regions are already on maximum alert, with bars and gyms shut down, theatres and restaurants under strict health protocol.