Jean Castex, the French prime minister, said that all travel
between France and nations outside of the E.U. would be banned starting on
Sunday, with exceptions made only for urgent matters. All travelers from E.U.
countries, except for cross-border workers, will have to present a negative
coronavirus test to enter the country, Mr. Castex added.
Speculation about new restrictions had been growing in
France over the past week, with a flurry of conflicting and often confusing
information from officials, and many were expecting President Emmanuel Macron
to replace the current 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew with a new lockdown.
Speaking after a special cabinet meeting in Paris, Mr.
Castex acknowledged France faced a “strong risk of acceleration of the
epidemic” because of the more contagious British and South African variants of
the virus, and said debates over a new nationwide lockdown were “legitimate.”
“But we all know the very heavy toll it has on the French,
on all counts,” he said of a lockdown. “This evening, we consider that in view
of the numbers over the past few days, we can still give ourselves a chance to
avoid one.”
The variants that emerged in Britain and South Africa have
both been detected in France, and the country’s vaccination campaign has slowed
amid disruptions in the E.U. supply chain. The number of new cases has
continued to rise in France over the past few weeks, with nearly 23,000 new
cases reported on Friday, though they have not skyrocketed like they have for
some of France’s neighbors.
Britain, which has faced record numbers of cases and deaths,
tightened its travel restrictions on Wednesday, requiring British citizens
arriving from 22 high-risk countries to quarantine in hotels for 10 days at
their own expense. England entered its latest lockdown at the start of January.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European
Union, recommended on Monday restricting nonessential travel in a bid to
prevent blanket border closures, which can obstruct trade and the movement of
cross-border workers.
“We need to keep safe and discourage nonessential travel,”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, wrote on Twitter, citing
the danger of new variants circulating.
Mr. Castex also announced the closure of the country’s
largest malls that do not sell groceries, starting on Sunday, and increased
police checks on curfew violations and establishments like restaurants that
open illegally. Companies will be further encouraged to have their employees
work from home, he said.
“Our goal is to do everything to avoid a new lockdown, and
the next few days will be decisive,” Mr. Castex said.
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