(Reuters) - France on Tuesday became the first European country to surpass 2 million coronavirus cases despite an Oct. 30 nationwide lockdown that has led to a sharp decline in new infections, according to a Reuters tally. France is fourth in the number of infections reported, with 2,036,755, behind the United States, India and Brazil. With a death toll topping 45,000, France ranks seventh in COVID-19 deaths globally.Europe has reported nearly 14.5 million COVID-19 cases so far, making it the worst-affected region in the world and accounting for more than 26% of all infections so far, according to the tally. After hitting a peak of nearly 87,000 new infections in a single day on Nov. 7, the rate in France has dropped sharply with the total reaching a more than one-month low on Monday, at 9,406. The Monday figure tends to dip as there are fewer tests conducted on Sundays.