Bonjour! France welcoming again (vaccinated) vacationers – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

A walk in the footsteps of Pablo Picasso in Montmartre; breathe in the scents of Provence; a stroll along the D-Day beaches: this and all of France’s other attractions will be easily accessible again for most foreign tourists from next week – if they are vaccinated.

France is back on the menu as a destination for international visitors with COVID-19 infections. The government announced on Friday that it was abolishing the need for coronavirus testing for vaccinated Europeans. It also allows vaccinated tourists from the rest of the world, including the United States, much of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and Central America, to return if they test negative.

The relaxed rules come into effect from Wednesday and offer a boost to France’s precious tourism sector, which generated tens of billions of euros (dollars) and saved more than 1 million jobs before the pandemic froze mass tourism.

For French tour guide Linda Zenou, the return of foreign visitors cannot come soon enough: the unemployment benefits, on which she survived during the pandemic, were suspended last month and she “runs out of resources, nothing more”. The 61-year-old has had no foreign tourists to guide since taking a busload of English and Spanish speakers around the Palace of Versailles in February 2020.

“Every day there are announcements that Americans – ‘Whoopee!’ – etc. come back, ”she said. “It will take some time to set up, and since I’m desperate, it’s hard to be positive.”

The co-owner of the magnificent Vaux-le-Vicomte chateau, southeast of Paris, also said he was expecting a “shy” return of foreign tourists, who used to make up about a quarter of the 17th-century visitors to the property.

“Hurray,” said Alexandre de Vogüé about the reopening of the borders. “But we are careful.”

Tourism to France from countries struggling with virus floods and worrying variants will still not be possible. This “Red List” currently includes 16 countries, including India, South Africa and Brazil. Travelers from red countries would have to justify themselves vaccinated and quarantine for a week.

Outside Europe, the rest of the world is classified as “orange” in the new travel rule book released by the French government on Friday.

Vaccinated visitors from “orange” countries – including the US and UK – no longer need to be quarantined upon arrival or justify the reasons for traveling to France. However, you will still be asked for a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours or a negative antigen test no more than 48 hours.

Unvaccinated children are admitted with vaccinated adults, but must have a negative test from the age of 11.

European visitors and visitors from seven countries classified as “green” – Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore – no longer need to be tested if they are vaccinated.

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