France is tightening the screw against travelers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and India, countries whose list could grow due to the spread of variants of the coronavirus .
The Minister of the Interior recalled this Thursday evening that from Saturday April 24, "essentially, only French and European nationals having a residence in France" will be able to travel to France.
Read also Quarantine: five minutes to understand the restrictions on travelers from Brazil
They will then have to comply with very strict restrictions.
First, before boarding, these travelers will have to present a “negative PCR test of more than 36 hours”, then they will carry out an antigen test when arriving at a French airport.
Whatever the result, all will have to carry out a quarantine of 10 days, "decided by prefectural decree", detailed Gerald Darmanin.
"Proof of address or hotel reservation" to be presented upon boarding
The contours of the latter have been largely hardened: unlike the passenger isolation measures decided in the past, this time, checks can be carried out. First, these passengers will have to declare their place of quarantine to their airline before taking off, with "a proof of address or a hotel reservation", as well as "proof of its accessibility for the police. », Explained the minister. Another check of this location will also be carried out on arrival, this time by border police officers (PAF).
During this quarantine, outings will be very supervised and only authorized between 10 a.m. and noon, in order to run errands and for compelling reasons. "Outside, the person may be subject to control by the police, police or gendarmes, who will go to the home," said Gérald Darmanin, specifying that if a non-compliance with the quarantine is observed , the traveler incurs a fine ranging from 1000 to 1500 euros, against 135 euros currently.
According to him, it will be proposed to open the possibility for the public authorities "to impose a place of quarantine, in the very rare cases where the one chosen by the traveler does not allow effective isolation and effective control by the police. ". Finally, the government should introduce a provision "aimed at further strengthening this quarantine system" in the draft law on exiting the state of emergency regime, currently being debated in Parliament.
