France eases covid travel restrictions

Friday 12 March 2021

France is opening up to travel to and from Britain from today – so long as travellers test negative for covid less than 72 hours in advance.

British travellers will benefit from the President Emmanuel Macron’s easing alongside those from Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.

All non-essential travel was banned by France on 31 January as it aimed to get a handle on covid-19 variants – including the more transmissible UK variant, which has been detected in Jersey. Under those rules, France had previously required travellers to provide a “compelling reason” for their journey – something they will no longer need.

The move could pave the way for the return of holidays in the coming months.

Currently, travel in and out of Jersey is limited due to the island treating all countries as ‘red’, which means all inbound passengers must isolate until they have tested negative for covid after a minimum of 10 days’ isolation. 

However, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC) are due to discuss the potential return of a traffic light system on Monday. Their recommendations will then be passed on to Ministers to make a final decision on travel next week. 

Yesterday, Deputy Medical Officer for Health Dr Ivan Muscat said that the pace of vaccination in other jurisdictions would be an important factor in decision-making. He said that travel within the Common Travel Area - of which the UK, Ireland and Crown Dependencies are all a part - would likely be first to reopen due to their similar vaccination rates.

Condor is currently hoping to be able to revive its usual high-speed services – which includes sailings between Jersey and Saint Malo, as well as inter-island trips – in May.

Pictured: Condor will not require passengers to prove they have tested negative for covid when the company hopes high-speed services resume in May.

Yesterday, the ferry provider confirmed that it would no longer be requiring passengers to show evidence of a recent negative covid-19 test when it hopes sailings resume on 21 May.