The Eiffel Tower in Paris
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)The decision to place stricter restrictions on travellers from France is “excessive” and not “totally based on scientific foundations”, the French government has said.
UK ministers have announced plans to maintain rules requiring fully vaccinated Britons to quarantine for 10 days when returning from France.
The move casts doubt over the prospect of Britons holidaying in France this summer and is a U-turn on the planned exemption for those who have had both vaccines.
Clement Beaune, France's junior European affairs minister, told BFM TV on Monday: “We don’t think that the United Kingdom’s decisions are totally based on scientific foundations. We find them excessive.”
France is the exception to the rule which sees double jabbed travellers able to avoid self-isolating on their return to the UK from amber list countries.
They will still, however, have to fill in a passenger locator form and take a Covid test while abroad and also two days after they get home.
Gemma Antrobus, of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, said the travel industry had not expected the step taken by the Government on Friday evening amid concern over the spread of the Beta coronavirus variant in France.
She told BBC Breakfast on Saturday: “This new level of traffic light, this fifth traffic light that we now have – amber-plus – wasn’t something that’s ever been mentioned, so nobody expected this to come.
“So really the travel industry are in as much shock as the consumers are right now, and really we would just have to pick up the pieces and deal with it and help our clients through this pretty terrible situation.”
Britons in France have spoken of their “frustration” after discovering they will still need to quarantine for 10 days and take two tests after returning to England, despite the self-isolation and day eight test requirement being lifted on arrivals from all other amber list countries if someone is double-jabbed or under-18.
