France reported 23,448 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, down from 26,362 on Wednesday while hospitalisations continued to decline.

The coronavirus situation in France remained fragile but for the moment there was no need for a new national lockdown, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

The health ministry reported 360 COVID-19 deaths versus 357 on Wednesday, taking the total during the nearly year-long pandemic to 77,952. France's overall total of cases is 3.27 million.

The number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 stood at 27,766, down 187 over 24 hours, while there were 3,240 patients in intensive care units, down 27 over the same period, initial data from the health ministry's Geodes site showed.