France is set to ban travel to and from the UK without “compelling reasons” from Saturday morning (December 18), according to reports.
The BBC reported that French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the prime minister’s office will make announcements “in the next few hours” regarding travellers from the UK.
“From Saturday morning, only French citizens returning from the UK, or British people living in France, will be allowed to come to France,” said the BBC.
“Travellers will have to give a compelling reason to be allowed to enter the country. People arriving from the UK will have to isolate at a location they choose, their isolation will end after 48 hours if they show a negative test.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted that hauliers will be exempt from the new ban.
To confirm I have liaised with my French counterpart @Djebbari_JB and hauliers will remain exempt.https://t.co/7kKsusKlwW
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) December 16, 2021
Sky News is also reporting the ban on British tourists, saying it comes amid concern over the rise in Omicron cases in the UK.
It reported: “Paris says the ‘compelling reasons’ do not include travel for tourism and business. French nationals and their spouses are exempt from the new rules.”
The Guardian quoted Attal saying this new policy was aimed at “tightening the net” to slow down the arrival of Omicron cases in France and give time for the French vaccination booster campaign to gain more ground.
Brittany Ferries told the BBC: “If confirmed, these new measures could be a hammer blow to our Christmas season. In the context of an Omicron variant that is passing through the French population as it is in the UK, further border controls seem as unnecessary as they are unwelcome.”
The news comes as other countries are toughening up their travel restrictions to tackle the new, rapidly spreading Covid-19 variant.
The Guardian reported that travellers to Greece from the UK will need a negative PCR test to enter the country from December 19.
It also said Italy will tighten restrictions for arrivals from the rest of the European Union from Thursday (December 16), requiring coronavirus tests of everyone and a five-day quarantine for those who are not vaccinated.
The Telegraph said Finland will require travellers from outside the European Union and the Schengen area to present a negative test result from the previous 48 hours. The government is still discussing when to begin enforcing the rules.
Arrivals from certain countries, such as the UK, are likely to be subject to compulsory health checks, said the Telegraph report.
It also said Canada is expected to tighten restrictions on international travel.