Issued on:
France on Thursday said it would show “tolerance” for Britons hoping to transit the country to reach homes elsewhere in the European Union, after a surprise clampdown caused dismay for thousands of travellers.
Under tougher Covid rules that began to be applied this week, non-resident Britons can no longer drive through France – only those with a primary French residence will be allowed in.
Many Britons take the Channel Tunnel from England to France, using Eurotunnel’s Shuttle service, to take cars from the UK to their homes in other EU countries.
But over the holidays many returned to Britain to visit family and friends without knowing that France was planning the tougher rules on non-residents.
But with Britain no longer part of the EU, it is considered a “third country” whose citizens are subject to the same rules as those of other nations outside the bloc.
“Unless they hold French residency, British citizens are now considered third country citizens and can no longer transit France by road to reach their country of residence in the EU,” Eurotunnel said in a tweet late Wednesday.
P&O Ferries issued a similar tweet warning that “only those with French residency will be permitted to enter France”.
‘Compelling reasons’
A French interior ministry official said it had not changed its list of “compelling” reasons enabling Britons to travel to France, but had clarified their application this month by border police.
“It seems logical to consider them like all other third-country citizens, and to not allow their transit toward another EU country,” the official told AFP, asking not to be identified by name.
All tourism and professional travel from Britain has been suspended since December 18 as France tries to slow the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
On its travel advice website, the British…
Source : france24
