The French president, Emmanuel Macron, Warner on Thursday that France was on the brink of coronavirus epidemic, as countries across Europe rushed to confront the escalating numbers of cases. With new evidence of unexplained cases of transmission emerging in Spain, Germany and France, the mounting public health crisis on the continent forced the cancellation of public events from Geneva to Greece, including sporting events, carnivals and trade conventions amid further sharp stock market falls and disruption to European travel. “We are facing a crisis, an epidemic that is coming. We know that certain countries are already much more affected than us,” Macron said while visiting staff at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, where the first French victim of the virus, a 60- year old teacher, died on Tuesday night. “We know that we’re only at the beginning. We’re going to try to make the right decisions,” Macron added. Almost 3,000 people worldwide have died of covid -19 so