France’s defense chief misled nation on troops’ virus safety

PARIS (AP) — France’s defense minister has admitted to misleading the nation about virus protections for air force personnel who evacuated French citizens from the hard-hit Chinese city of Wuhan in January. The military personnel have been suspected of links to France’s first confirmed COVID-19 cluster. The revelation Tuesday by Defense Minister Florence Parly is a further blow to the credibility of President Emmanuel Macron’s government as it battles rebounding virus infections. Parly initially said the crew of the military plane that evacuated French citizens from Wuhan had been tested for the virus. But now she told a Senate committee that they weren’t tested, just monitored. France has the third-highest virus death toll in Europe after Britain and Italy.