France's cabinet will Wednesday hold its weekly meeting remotely for the first time since the end of the virus lockdown, after Prime Minister Jean Castex spent part of the weekend with the boss of the Tour de France who tested positive for COVID-19.

Castex tested negative for the coronavirus in an initial test but is, in line with official guidance, self-isolating at his official Paris Matignon residence for seven days, his office said.

Castex was in the car of Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme as they followed the eighth stage of the race on Saturday.

Prudhomme, who is asymptomatic, must now leave the race for a week to go into quarantine.

Castex is in good health but would "respect the protocol" by holding his meetings via videoconference, his office said in a statement.

The premier, who had met other ministers over the last days, will have another test seven days after the contact with Prudhomme.

The cabinet meeting will take place by videoconference, the government said. 

This will be the first time this has happened since the end of France's two-month anti-coronavirus lockdown in May.

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he had taken a COVID-19 test, which came out negative, after visiting both Lebanon and Iraq in the last days.

Concern has been growing over the risk of a second wave of the epidemic in France, with the number of new cases surging even though the death rate remains relatively low compared to the highs in the spring.

The authorities said 6,544 new infections were recorded on Tuesday.