Thousands of Britons have abruptly interrupted their holidays in France as a result of the London Government's decision to impose, as of this Saturday, a two-week quarantine on travelers from that country. The announcement of this Friday morning, as sudden as the imposition of the same measure in the case of Spain was on July 25, has caused long queues at French airports and forced the Eurostar train to hang the “no there are tickets ”.
The United Kingdom justifies these restrictions, which it will also extend to arrivals from the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, the Turks and Caicos archipelago and the island of Aruba, due to the increase in the number of infections in those territories. The chaos caused by this step has been especially pronounced in France, the second most popular holiday destination among the British after Spain (10.35 million visits per year, according to data from the Statista company). The imposition of a quarantine has surprised and upset the French government, which has promised that it will respond with a similar measure, although there is still no date set.
"France regrets the UK's decision and will apply reciprocity measures in the field of transport," tweeted French Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. "I have conveyed to my [British] counterpart our desire to harmonize sanitary protocols to guarantee a high level of protection on both sides of the English Channel," he added. It is not the first time that London has imposed a quarantine on France and it has to respond. This was already the case - as with Spain - at the beginning of June, a measure that was in force until July 3.
On this occasion, the sudden decision has irritated many British vacationers who claim that they cannot afford 14 days of confinement at home without going to work after returning to their country. An almost identical situation with what happened with Spain three weeks ago. And that has drawn criticism from tour operators when it comes to taking a new and hard blow for the sector.
The search for an early flight to return to the British Isles before this Saturday has resulted in crowds around some French airports such as Nice, where ticket prices - if any - have increased considerably. Regarding the rail route, the Eurotunnel managers (this Friday crowded with British families) have announced that there are no longer tickets available, while urging the public not to travel to the terminal without having a confirmed reservation.
Several ferry companies have assured the BBC of an increase in their capacity, although they warned passengers about the obligation to make the reservation in advance to be able to embark in the ports of France, Holland and Belgium bound for the British coast. According to the BFM TV chain, the three flights that the French Air France had planned to London were already full, and those to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle were also almost complete.
The British ambassador to France, Lord Llewellyn, has acknowledged that the morning news about the imposition of a quarantine "will not be welcomed" by many of the 160,000 Britons who are currently on vacation in Gallic lands, but has encouraged them to extend their stay taking the recommended security measures. And resigning himself to a two-week closure upon returning home.
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