Across the continent, a mishmash of travel restrictions appears to be on the horizon, often depending on where travellers live and what passports they carry.

France has the world's fourth-highest tally of deaths from the outbreak with 19,323, after the United States, Italy and Spain.

The deal struck Thursday among the finance ministers did not, however, include more far-reaching cooperation in the form of shared borrowing guaranteed by all member countries.

The country is now trying to balance the need to keep its population safe and the economic risks of a deep recession, tough decisions that many other governments around the world have lying ahead of them.

Facing intense surges in the need for hospital ICU beds, European nations are on a building and hiring spree, throwing together makeshift hospitals and shipping coronavirus patients out of overwhelmed cities via high-speed trains and military jets.

The legislation has been criticized by opposition parties, international institutions and civic groups for failing include an expiration date for the government's ability to rule by decree.

The outbreak initially took hold in eastern France, where hospitals have become overwhelmed, and has been spreading west.

Lights spelled out ``Merci,'' French for `Thank you,'' and ``Stay at home'' in English on Friday night along with the tower's famous sparkling illuminations.

The talks came as the death toll in Europe from COVID-19 soared well beyond 13,000 people.

With Italy reporting the most virus cases and deaths anywhere in the world except China, the pandemic is increasingly wearing on the EU's border-free vision.