Paris, Jun 12 (IANS): The COVID-19 pandemic has since early March claimed 29,346 lives in France, the world's fifth highest toll after the United States, Britain, Brazil and Italy, official data published by the Health Ministry showed.

On daily basis, the tally grew by 27, slightly higher than Wednesday's 23, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The total number of people with the COVID-19 who need hospital treatment fell by 213 to 11,465. The same downward trend was reported in intensive care units, with 903 patients requiring life support, a one-day decrease of 30, it added.

Since the pandemic outbreak, France has reported a total of 155,561 COVID-19 cases, up by 425, compared to 545 confirmed on Wednesday.

"The gradual and cautious lifting of confinement has resulted in a favourable development of the epidemiological situation on national territory, but the epidemic is far from over," the ministry said. "Our individual and collective behaviour conditions the future of the epidemic."