French Prime Minister Jean Castex rode in the lead car on stage 8 of the Tour de France on Saturday, witnessing the first signs of calm in the COVID-19 edition with the second French stage winner and a large crowd lining the Peyresur pass heading to the finish in Roudenviere The first signs of calm in the COVID-19 edition were witnessed.

Castex took time out from his own French tour to ride with race director Christian Prudhomme to promote the government's €120 billion "France Relance" plan to revive the French economy and help it recover from the effects of the pandemic, and AG He witnessed Nance Peter's stage win at 2R La Mondiale.

Castex praised Tour de France organizers for their security measures to protect riders and the public from the coronavirus as crowds of fans closed in on the riders (most, but not all, were wearing masks) at the top of the Peyrezur pass.

"We are vigilant, but life takes over, the Tour takes place, and the party continues," Castex told France Télévisions. 'We are really happy with what we saw today.'

France has seen a new surge of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, and Castex said before the start of the Tour de France that the virus was spreading freely for the first time since May. 21 departments are in the red zone, with an average of more than 50 new cases per day per 100,000 people. The Haute-Pyrénées province, where the stage ended today, is below that level.

"I was very touched that a Frenchman won today in front of my eyes. Long live the French," said Castex.

The riders will undergo a second coronavirus PCR test on Monday's rest day, raising concerns that riders and teams could be pulled from the race if multiple members are infected, and that the peloton is racing as if the race could end at any moment speculation.

With spectators nearby, the Movistar team took to Twitter to appeal to fans to wear masks and keep their distance.