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LATEST: France aims to reopen borders for European travel from June 15th

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
LATEST: France aims to reopen borders for European travel from June 15th
Photo: AFP

France hopes to reopen its borders to travel from within Europe from June 15th, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced.

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Travel into France is currently heavily restricted with only essential travel allowed, travellers also need to present an international travel certificate at the border.

However Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, while announcing the next phase of lifting of lockdown restrictions, said on Thursday that France would begin talks with other Europe countries to lift border restrictions from June 15th.

Several other EU countries, including Germany, have already committed to reopening borders on June 15th, but until now France had only said that it would review its restrictions on that date.

Now it seems likely that all travel from within the EU (which for this purpose includes the UK) will be allowed without restriction from then.

However travellers arriving from the UK or Spain are still the subject to a voluntary quarantine, which France introduced as a reciprocal measure for those countries' quarantines.

READ ALSO Who will be quarantined on arrival in France?

The EU borders remain closed to travellers from outside Europe, and the lifting of those will be a matter for discussion among European countries, the PM added.

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Until June 15th the current regulations remain in place for travel with France saying EU countries will coordinate to agree a new position for what happens after June 15th.

Anyone travelling into France currently needs une attestation de déplacement internationale (international travel certificate).

Full details on the certificate be can found here.

French citizens can return to the country, but anyone coming from within Europe (including the UK) will need to meet one of the following criteria to be allowed into the country:

  • People who have their primary residence in France. This does NOT include second home owners. Third country nationals will need to present a visa or residency card while EU nationals (which for this purpose still includes British people) do not need any proof of residency status.
  • People who have their permanent residency in another European country and are travelling through France to get home
  • Healthcare workers engaged in coronavirus-related care
  • Commercial good carriers such as lorry drivers and flight or cargo crews
  • Diplomatic staff
  • Cross-border workers. So for example if you live in France but work in Switzerland you can still travel back and forth.

Certificates are being checked at the border and when boarding transport to France and the French police can and will turn people back - as happened to this private jet from London full of people planning a holiday in Cannes.

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