France's Macron makes mask-wearing an act of national pride

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France's President Emmanuel Macron wearing a protective face mask with a blue-white-red coloured ribbon gestures while speaking with schoolchildren in a classroom during a visit to the Pierre de Ronsard elementary school in Poissy, France, May 5, 2020, as France readies to face an ease in the coronavirus lockdown measures. Ian Langsdon/Pool via REUTERS     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
France's President Emmanuel Macron wearing a protective face mask with a blue-white-red coloured ribbon gestures while speaking with schoolchildren in a classroom during a visit to the Pierre de Ronsard elementary school in Poissy, France, May 5, 2020, as France readies to face an ease in the coronavirus lockdown measures. Ian Langsdon/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

With a face mask 100 per cent made in France, President Emmanuel Macron showed the famously fashionable French people Tuesday that civic responsibility and style are not mutually exclusive, AP reports.

Macron used a visit to a primary school to promote the type of cloth masks that will be de rigueur on public transportation and other locations when France starts emerging from its coronavirus lockdown next week.

The dark blue version Macron wore while visiting the school west of Paris complemented his tie and blue suit, and came embellished on one side with ribbon detail in red, white and blue, the colours of the French flag.

France's President Emmanuel Macron wearing a protective face mask with a blue-white-red coloured ribbon gestures while speaking with schoolchildren in a classroom during a visit to the Pierre de Ronsard elementary school in Poissy, France, on May 5, 2020, as France readies to face an ease in the coronavirus lockdown measures. — Reuters
France's President Emmanuel Macron wearing a protective face mask with a blue-white-red coloured ribbon gestures while speaking with schoolchildren in a classroom during a visit to the Pierre de Ronsard elementary school in Poissy, France, on May 5, 2020, as France readies to face an ease in the coronavirus lockdown measures. — Reuters

The French presidency said the mask, designed specifically to protect the public from the virus, was produced by knitwear manufacturer Chanteclair and retails for 4.92 euros ($5.34.) The French military tested the garment's breathability and effectiveness in filtering out small particles, the presidency said.

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