UK and US travellers must be vaccinated to enter France -minister

People travelling to France from countries where the COVID-19 risk is rated "orange", such as Britain and the United States, will have to be vaccinated and show a recent negative test result, European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on Friday.

Under new rules set to take effect from June 9, people coming from orange countries who have not been vaccinated will need to prove they have an imperative reason to travel to France - such a a legal case or child care - and will also have to show a recent negative COVID-19 test, Beaune said.

Countries classified as orange in terms of COVID-19 risk are countries where the rate of virus circulation remains high or which have a high level of new virus variants, such as the UK. Any country not classified as green or red is classified orange, Beaune said on RTL radio.

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Entry requirements are lower for countries which France classifies as "green", which includes all European Union member states plus a number of countries where the virus is considered to be under control, notably Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore.

"If you come from a green country and you are vaccinated, you are welcome to come and enjoy France. If you are not vaccinated, you will need a recent negative test to enter French territory, he said.

People from countries classified as red, including South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, India and Turkey, can only come to France with an imperative reason, whether they are vaccinated or not.

Beaune said that French residents would only have to take a test to enter the country, even if they were arriving from counties classified as red or orange.