Sacre bleu!

France is urging people to cut back on the customary double-cheek kiss in order to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Health Minister Olivier Véran advised the country Saturday to refrain the traditional greeting known as “la bise,” in which people give kisses, or air kisses, on both cheeks.

“The reduction in social contacts of a physical nature is advised. That includes the practice of the bise,” Veran said at a press conference.

France, which has 100 confirmed coronavirus cases and two deaths from the virus, made similar recommendations during the swine flu outbreak.

The latest guidance comes after even French President Emmanuel Macron greeted Italian Premier with a kiss on not just one, but two separate occasions, during a summit last week in Naples.

The Italian government’s special commissioner for coronavirus, Angelo Borrelli, also warned against such displays of physical contact in the country, which has seen more than 1,100 people test positive for coronavirus and at least 29 deaths.

“We have a collective social life that is very florid, very expansive. We have lots of contact, we shake hands, we kiss each other, we hug each other,” Borelli told reporters. “Maybe it is better in this period not to shake hands, and do not have too much contact, and try to be a bit less expansive, which is different from how I am.”

Across the world, more than 87,000 people have been infected with the virus and nearly 3,000 have died since it emerged in Wuhan, China.

With Post wires