France to reopen for vaccinated European travelers from June 9

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - France will reopen its borders to all vaccinated European travelers without PCR test from June 9.

The French government on Friday released a travel guide classifying countries in red, orange and green categories on the basis of the epidemic situation.

Speaking to local BFMTV broadcaster, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, the secretary of state in charge of tourism, said France is ready to welcome foreign tourists on its territories with health precautions.

“We must reconcile the principle of mobility with the principle of health security because nothing would be worse than falling back into yet another COVID-19 wave in a few weeks or in a few months because we would not have taken enough precaution,” he said.

Clement Beaune, the secretary of state for European affairs, also took to Twitter to announce that every European who has received the vaccines recognized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson – can come to France without testing.

Visitors from European and seven other countries classified as “green” – Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore – will no longer need to undergo testing if they are vaccinated. Those without a vaccine will be required to undertake a PCR or antigen test 72 hours before departure.

Among the nations in the country’s red list included Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Turkey, Uruguay and South Africa.

Vaccinated travelers from the red list countries with compelling reasons will be allowed entry with a PCR or antigen test within 48 hours before departure followed by an antigenic test on arrival and self-isolation for seven days. The unvaccinated travelers will have to undergo a compulsory 10-day quarantine period.

All the other countries across the world including the UK, the US are listed in the orange category. Vaccinated travelers from these countries will also require a PCR (72 hours) or antigen (48 hours) before departure. Unvaccinated travelers will have to justify the reasons for their trip and will have to undergo a mandatory seven-day self-isolation.​​​​​​​