PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the French Presidency said on Thursday, although it was not clear at this stage where he had contracted the virus.

"The President of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 today," his office said in a statement. "This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms."

The presidency said he would isolate for the next seven days and would continue to run the country remotely. A spokeswoman said that all his trips had been cancelled, including an upcoming visit to Lebanon on Dec. 22.

They added he was trying to assess where he could have contracted the virus.

Macron was at a European Council heads of state meeting on Dec. 10-11.

Prime Minister Jean Castex will also self isolate after coming into contact with Macron over the last few days, said Gerard Larcher, head of the Senate, the upper house of the French parliament.

French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing a protective face mask, talks with health workers as he visits a medical center in Pantin near Paris as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, on April 7, 2020. Photo: Reuters/File