London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Travellers to France from four countries hit with new restrictions

Travellers to France from four countries hit with new restrictions

New arrivals from Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil must adhere to strict new guidelines that will come into force next Saturday, including a 10-day home quarantine.
France is imposing new entry restrictions on travellers from four high-risk countries in a bid to curb the spread of new coronavirus variants.

The government announced on Saturday that new arrivals from Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil must undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine with police checks to ensure they are complying.

Only French nationals and their families, EU citizens, or people with a permanent home in France will be allowed to enter from these four countries.

They will also need to produce either a negative PCR test taken less than 36 hours before their flight, or a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old together with a negative antigen test less than 24 hours old.

France suspended all flights from Brazil last week. This measure is set to be lifted next Saturday, by which time the new restrictions, which also apply to French Guyana, will be in place.

In a statement the office of French prime minister Jean Castex said the restrictions were due to the "uncontrolled spread of the virus in certain countries" and "in particular of several variants... raising fears of a risk of increased transmissibility or vaccine escape."

He added, "All of these national emergency measures will be discussed with our European partners at the start of the week.

"Besides Brazil, Argentina, Chile and South Africa, other countries may be affected by these measures based on criteria identified by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)."

New variants of SARS-CoV-2 that emerged over the winter are believed to be responsible for a surge of new COVID-19 cases in affected countries. In Brazil alone, more than 150,000 new deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded since the start of 2021.

While the published scientific research remains inconclusive, both the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil and the B.1.351 variant discovered in South Africa are thought to be more infectious than the original form of the virus.

France is currently under a nationwide partial lockdown, with an average of more than 35,000 new COVID-19 cases recorded each day over the past week.

The coronavirus variant first identified in England is now responsible for about 80 per cent of new cases, while the variants first seen in Brazil and South Africa so far make up less than 4 per cent of French infections, Health Minister Olivier Veran said last week.

Under the new restrictions, travellers from the four listed countries must provide an address for where they plan to observe their 10-day confinement period.

Police will also make visits and issue heavy fines to those who flout the rules, the government said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×