PARIS - A strict lockdown in France may be the only way to avoid a major crisis within the hospital system, Professor Philippe Juvin from the Georges Pompidou hospital in Paris told BFM TV on Thursday.

Juvin, who is also the mayor of La Garenne-Colombes in the Paris region, said hospitals risked being overwhelmed to the point where they could neither treat COVID-19 patients nor non-COVID patients.

"The situation is critical," added Juvin.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Gareth Jones) ((sudip.kargupta@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 53 84;))