The summer promised to be relatively calm for the French compared to last year. The Covid-19 epidemic seemed to be under control in France and in Europe, prompting most countries to gradually reduce health measures. The government had lifted the mortgages on the summer holidays early, encouraged by a rather on-plan vaccination campaign. It is always advisable to visit France, including overseas territories. The executive nonetheless provided a user manual for regulating tourist travel abroad, with a chromatic classification of countries according to their epidemic situation: green (safe country in terms of health), orange (the virus actively circulates with these variants) and red.
Read the file: Where to go to France this summer 2021?
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And at the same time, a call for air from the south of Europe awakened the desire to leave within a population weaned from trips abroad for 18 months.
Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia ... eased the restrictions on arrival since mid-June.
Airlines found flight plans consistent with the summer period, from the Cyclades to the Azores, while the European health pass, launched on July 1, promised relative fluidity in travel conditions.
Like a Mistigri, the highly contagious Delta variant seems to be reshuffling the cards.
Concerns are swelling as contamination curves soar in Spain, Portugal or the Netherlands, without this materializing - yet? - in hospitals.
What shatters an essential trust when entering your bank code to book your vacation.
ASK US YOUR QUESTIONS
The editorial staff of Figaro Voyage is mobilized with the most qualified experts to answer your questions: you can send them to redactionvoyage@lefigaro.fr
Should you cancel your holidays in Spain and Portugal?
Many of you are asking us questions on this point, following the statements of the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, last Friday. For the moment the answer is clearly no. As this lawyer specializing in the subject explains, we have to wait until the conditions are met: flight canceled (even if most companies are still very flexible on postponements / cancellations); ban on travel from France ... Also counting on the fact that, on site, the sanitary restrictions are sufficiently "heavy" to radically change the appearance of your vacation. What if the vaccine becomes a reason for entering the country? Here again there is no case law. But from the moment the vaccination is accessible to all French people,there is little chance that this will be considered a case of force majeure ...
To read also: Variant Delta: "It is not yet necessary to cancel your holidays in Spain"
Before Emmanuel Macron's intervention, the two countries of the Iberian Peninsula, like all European states, remain classified "green" by France.
And therefore open to tourists, vaccinated or not.
The surge in cases could lead to a review of their status.
If they turn orange, only vaccinated tourists could travel there, accompanied by their children.
If they turned red (which would place them at the level of India or Brazil ...), then any tourist travel would become impossible.
Map of green, orange and red countries on July 1 (based on the health situation on site):
All of Europe is currently classified in green.
Government
But beware !
It is not because a country appears in green on this map of the French government that you can travel there.
Each state remains free to set its own restrictions and reciprocity is far from the rule.
The United States or Japan, for example, do not allow the arrival of French travelers.
Their nationals, on the other hand, can visit our country.
Read also: Decryption: can we really travel outside of Europe to a green or orange country?
Which countries can I travel to so far?
We list in this map all the countries of Europe, as well as the few foreign destinations, which currently welcome French tourists.
The conditions are different.
And beyond the Old Continent, only vaccinated French people can consider a stay.
Read also: Covid-19 and travel: Delta variant, health pass, vaccine, restrictions ... Where can the French go this summer?
Our updated maps
Faced with the epidemic threat, will airlines cancel flights?
To date, airlines do not change their flight plans.
They seem nevertheless informed by the incalculable rebounds of the last months, and in general offer very flexible conditions of cancellation or postponement of tickets.
Read also: Spain, Portugal: the Delta variant does not cut the wings of airlines
How does the European health pass work?
Since July 1, the “EU digital Covid certificate”, document certifying that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19;
or is tested negative;
or recovered from Covid-19, possibly presented in paper and digital formats, directly in the TousAntiCovid app.
Both versions, paper and digital, have a "QR Code".
The pass is valid in the 27 countries of the European Union as well as in Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Monaco or Andorra.
It is available in the national languages (and in English).
For any trip to the old continent, it is now recommended to use it.
Beyond that, there is still no harmonization.
Read also: European health pass: all the answers to your questions
Is it better to be vaccinated to travel?
In theory, the EU had established a consensus so that there is no “discrimination” between vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers within the community space. In practice, this rule has already been broken: Malta decided this weekend to reserve access to its territory only to vaccinated tourists, and fully vaccinated: a single dose after being contaminated by the Covid does not equal to a complete scheme according to Valletta. An example that could be imitated ...
Less radical, other countries such as Iceland accept tourists from so-called "safe" countries but impose isolation on the unvaccinated, the time for a new test.
In fact, it is therefore better to be vaccinated to travel to Europe this summer.
Especially since when you return from your trip, you must produce a negative test within 72 hours if you do not have your serum doses.
Read also: Why you should be vaccinated to travel this summer
