France bans British tourists from the country starting on Saturday, in order to reduce the rapid spread of the Covid Omicron virus.
French officials stated that no non-essential traveller from the UK would be permitted in the UK starting on the weekend.
A spokesman confirmed there will be a ‘requirement to have an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated’.
He said, “People can’t travel for professional or tourist reasons.”
The French nationals and EU citizens could return from the UK to France, they argued.
While Delta is still the most popular variant of omicron in France, it is rapidly spreading in Britain.
France is far less affected than the UK by this new virus, which has spread fast.
Yesterday, Macron was the French President at the EU Eastern Partnership Summit.
Gabriel Attal, spokesperson of the French government said that while tourism and business trips between Britain and France would be restricted, French citizens will be allowed to travel.
Attal explained that everyone arriving from Britain should have a positive virus test no more than 24 hours ago.
Wednesday saw the UK record the largest number of COVID-19-related new cases since the beginning of the pandemic. England’s chief Medical Officer warned that things could worsen as an omicron variant causes a new round of illnesses during Christmas.
This is an abrupt turnaround from yesterday’s announcement that returning travelers would require a negative test of less than 24 hours, a blanket quarantine on their return to France and limited tourism.
“We will decrease the validity of your test to arrive in France from 48 hours up to 24 hours,” they stated.
“We will restrict the reasons to come to France from Britain, it will only be available to French residents and nationals as well as their families. People who are not citizens or have French nationality will be unable to travel for tourism or business purposes.
He said that people (coming back to the country) must register via an app. After seven days, they will have to take refuge in a location of their choice. The security forces will monitor this. If a French negative is found in France, however, it can be cut to 48 hours.
Attal stated that this was to ‘tighten the net’ in order to reduce Omicron case arrivals in France. It also allows for more time for French vaccine booster campaigns to take root.
He stated that his strategy was to defer Omicron’s development in the country as long as possible and to take advantage of the booster drive.
Britain recorded Wednesday a record number of confirmed Covid cases in laboratory tests. Scientists are predicting higher numbers as Omicron spreads faster than Delta.
Travel restrictions that are strict have been imposed as an indication of the lack of trust between British-French governments after Brexit.
Last week, the French President Emmanuel Macron accused Boris Johnson’s UK government of breaking its promise on Brexit.