London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

France reopens restaurants, bars and borders as COVID-19 rules ease

France reopens restaurants, bars and borders as COVID-19 rules ease

French people are from Wednesday allowed back into restaurants and bars while foreign travellers with a COVID passport can once more visit the country.

Wednesday marks the next phase in the easing of restrictions announced in late April by President Emmanuel Macron.

It is heavily dependent on the rollout of a health pass attesting the holder has either been vaccinated, has recently tested negative for the virus, or has recently recovered from it.

What are the changes in restrictions?


*  The nighttime curfew is pushed back by another two hours to 23:00 — it is meant to be fully lifted on June 30;

*  Cafés and restaurants can welcome customers indoors at 50% capacity with a maximum of 6 people per table. Terraces can be filled at 100% capacity, also with a maximum of six people per table;

*  Capacity at museums and other cultural venues including cinemas and theatres is increased with events of up to 5,000 people allowed although health passes are required for any event of more than 1,000 people;

*  Capacity at outdoor sporting events increased to 5,000 with health passes if over 1,000;

*  Large exhibitions and fairs can be held with a maximum of 5,000 people in attendance with health passes if over 1,000;

*  Outdoor physical activity, including contact sports, allowed with a maximum of 25 participants. Amateur competitions can also proceed with a maximum of 500 people;

*  Places of worship and partnership ceremonies, as well as marriages, can proceed at 50% capacity;

*  Funerals can be attended by up to 75 people;

*  Foreign tourists with health passes can enter the country.

What are the travel restrictions?


From today, France operates under a traffic-light system similar to the UK with countries either classed as green, amber or red depending on their epidemiological situation. The list will be updated on a regular basis and can be accessed here.

Green countries include the rest of the EU as well as Australia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.

Travellers must have either been fully vaccinated with a jab approved by the European Medicines Agency — Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford University, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — or present a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours prior to travelling if unvaccinated.

Most other countries fall into the amber category including the US and UK and most of Asia and Africa.

To be let through the border, travellers must be either fully inoculated with an EMA-approved vaccine and present a negative PCR or antigen test taken over the previous 72 hours; or if they are unvaccinated, have an essential reason to visit in which case they will have to submit to a test prior to their departure and self-isolate for seven days upon arrival.

Countries with an "active circulation" of the virus are categorised as red. These include Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, India, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Turkey, and Uruguay.

All travellers from these countries — whether vaccinated or not — must justify an essential reason to visit, present a PCR or antigen test no older than 48 hours prior to their departure, and submit to an antigen test upon arrival. Vaccinated people then need to self-isolate for seven days while unvaccinated travellers must submit to a 10-day quarantine controlled by law enforcement officers.

What's the COVID situation in France?


France is one of the most heavily impacted countries in Europe with more than 110,000 lives lost to the pandemic.

The national seven-day incidence rate is currently at 68.7 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, down from 364.6 cases per 100,000 population when the third national lockdown was announced on March 31. About a third of the country's metropolitan départements have an incidence rate below 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants including some on the Mediterranean coast badly afflicted earlier this year.

An average of 6,100 people have tested positive for the virus daily over the past week. The number of hospitalisations has also dramatically fallen over the past two months with 394 COVID-19 patients admitted on Tuesday, down from a 2021 peak of more than 2,100 on April 12.

More than 28.2 million of the country's 67.1 million population have received at least one shot with 14.3 million fully vaccinated.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
×