The French government on Thursday banned nonessential travel to and from Britain and tightened testing requirements for travelers due to the rise in Omicron cases.
Jean Castex, France’s prime minister said that due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom, they had to take action to protect themselves. He urged people planning to travel to Britain to postpone their trips.
British authorities reported 88,376 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest number of known infections in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
Those who do leave Britain for France will face stricter testing requirements, even if they are vaccinated. All arrivals from the UK will need a negative PCR or antigen test taken within 24 hours, and will have to quarantine in France for seven days – reduced to 48 hours if they can produce a new negative test.
All travelers from the UK must register before their departure on a digital platform allowing them in particular to give the address where they will be staying in France,
French citizens, their partners and children, as well as people legally resident in France and EU citizens traveling to their homes through France, would not have to demonstrate an essential reason for travel and would still be able to enter France, the government has said.
