PARIS, France= France's daily reported new coronavirus cases broke a new record on Tuesday with an average of over 300,000 a day in the past week, with the headline figure approaching half a million.

The latest data issued by Public Health France showed that there were 464,769 new cases in the last 24-hour period as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spread unabated.

A day earlier, 102,144 people had tested positive for the virus.

The average daily number of new cases over the past seven days has surpassed 300,000, the latest data showed.

French teachers' unions called Monday for a second major strike this week to protest the government's Covid testing and isolation protocols, which they say are severely disrupting classes.

The move follows a one-day walkout last week that saw half of the country's primary schools close, according to unions, who accuse authorities of failing to establish clear rules that would keep as many students in school as possible.

Teachers say class disruptions have become unmanageable with the spread of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, with many parents struggling to get vaccination appointments for their children and long lines for tests forming outside pharmacies.

In response the government promised to provide five million high-grade FFP2 facemasks for school staff and to hire over 3,000 substitute teachers to replace those forced to isolate after contracting Covid or coming into contact with an infected person.