Travellers rush to beat France-UK travel deadline

After midnight French time, (2300 GMT Friday) travellers will need to show a compelling reason for travel between the two countries, under shock new rules announced on Thursday by France to combat the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

“I feel very lucky that I managed to get out of France on the last day that it’s possible,” said Isla, a student at the Gare du Nord station in Paris with a ticket for one of the last Eurostar trains heading to London before the rules came into force.

Travellers expressed relief at being able to travel but surprise at the need for such drastic rules. 

– ‘All a bit panicky’ –

“We will see for the return afterwards. If after we need quarantine, we will be in quarantine when we return.”

“I was due to leave on Sunday, but I am leaving right now. It’s pretty much a last-minute change. It’s all a bit panicky but I did not fancy spending Christmas alone here.”

“I paid £70 to change my ticket. And I changed my test on Saturday to do one this morning, that cost £30 more,” she added.

France on Thursday justified the new rules “faced with the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK” and to give time for its own booster programme to find the upper hand against the variant.

“I think it’s good to keep the masks, social distancing and all that, but yeah, the ban is quite … strong.”

French President Emmanuel Macron last week accused UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of failing to keep his word on Brexit, saying “the problem with the British government is that it does not do what it says”.

The UK government has not sought to provoke a row with Paris over the new rules, although Downing Street spokesman did note that Britain had halted hotel quarantine “as this was no longer an effective or proportionate measure to slow the import of Omicron from abroad given it is seeded throughout the world.”

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Originally published as Travellers rush to beat France-UK travel deadline