Macron poised to soften lockdown as virus caseload drops

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce lighter coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday thanks to a recent drop in new infections, paving the way for shops to reopen swiftly and allow travel for Christmas. In an evening television address, Macron will also outline France's strategy to procure coronavirus vaccines as trial successes reported by some laboratories spark a worldwide scramble for Covid shots. "At this point, we will see a slight relaxing of the lockdown," Prime Minister Jean Castex told leaders of Macron's LREM party hours before the president's primetime appearance,...