France, Germany Enact New Lockdowns Over Second COVID-19 Wave in Europe

France, Germany Enact New Lockdowns Over Second COVID-19 Wave in Europe
Empty tables of a restaurant are pictured as the COVID-19 outbreak continues, in Berlin's Mitte district, Germany October 28, 2020. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
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BERLIN/PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdown on Wednesday, as a massive second wave of coronavirus infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter.

World stock markets went into a dive in response to the news that Europe’s biggest economies were imposing nationwide restrictions almost as severe as the ones that drove the global economy this year into its deepest recession in generations.