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France Updates Travel Restrictions

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
13% (if that’s the right %) is still a material total. It will be much higher in places like Val d’Isere. That’s fine, there’s plenty of other countries and resorts to choose from. Not just for this season, but in the future also. For example, we’re now looking at the Ski Welt or Serfaus as an alternative to our LaTania HT break. C’est la vie.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
This was from French minister Gabriel Attal yesterday..

"Additional ‘essential reasons’ for coming to France from the UK are expected to be announced shortly, having been agreed on by ministers today.
Lifting the requirement entirely will also be on the agenda the next time senior ministers meet in the Conseil de défense sanitaire (health defence council), government spokesman Gabriel Attal said today.
These meetings, often combined, as today, with the weekly meetings of the French cabinet, have been held regularly during the pandemic to take decisions related to fighting Covid-19
Asked if the current travel restrictions for the UK are not becoming pointless as the Omicron variant (the reason for the rules) is now prevalent in France also, Mr Attal confirmed that they would lift such measures if the health situations in France and restricted countries become comparable.
"When we observe that the Omicron variant is circulating just as much here as elsewhere, that the situations are truly comparable, we will ease the measures" in place, he said. 
He added: “As an example we decided today in the Conseil de défense to enlarge the list of essential reasons for coming from the UK to France, notably professional reasons.
“And we have decided that at the next Conseil de défense we will consider whether we can entirely remove the restrictions put in the place at the border with the UK.”
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Good news for late Jan skiing
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@yorkshirelad, that sounds promising for later this month
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Thats what i thought,..my les arc trip on 5th Feb is looking good, my sons finds out on saturday if his 22nd january is on or off...but suspect it will be off...
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How often do the Conseil de défense sanitaire hold meetings?
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I’ve got a weekend going out 20th January & I’m hopeful that’s going ahead
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Sorry, just read the above. "These meetings, often combined, as today, with the weekly meetings of the French cabinet"
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I've got Val d'Isere booked from 8-22nd Jan. I'm hoping to get at least one of those two weeks.
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I’m heading out on 23rd to PDS and have consistently been told from 15th will be ok. Here’s hoping!
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What Mr Attal is afraid to acknowledge is that situations ARE 'truly comparable' at this very moment. Arguably France is worse off (deaths per million in the last 7 days-France- 22, UK-17 for example). More cases, fewer boosters...
That they have yet to make up their minds about the new essential reasons is laughable (being a pedant-how can there be "new" essential reasons to add to the list, they either are, or they aren't). I envisage a wet finger pointing in the air, some french shrugging of shoulders and then some random scribblings on the back of a postcard...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
They’ve moved South Africa to the red list (from “scarlet”) which means fully vaxxed can travel without compelling reason or quarantine. Still no news on UK…
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Contrarian wrote:
How often do the Conseil de défense sanitaire hold meetings?


"These meetings, often combined, as today, with the weekly meetings of the French cabinet" ... hopefully next week then.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
hold_my_biere wrote:
Contrarian wrote:
How often do the Conseil de défense sanitaire hold meetings?


"These meetings, often combined, as today, with the weekly meetings of the French cabinet" ... hopefully next week then.


Too late for some of us to be waiting on a spurious decision, I really don't understand the logic behind the restrictions any longer.
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If relaxation occurs any thought on the testing regime required? Looking at current list for all colours PCR or antigen required within 48hrs though there is the "special" 24hr at the moment for UK travellers (who have a pressing reason).

Looking to get ducks in a row for a possible 15 Jan departure (fingers crossed) and will order some antigen tests.
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 Poster: A snowHead
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Does anyone know what the additional professional reasons are going to be and when these might come in ?
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snowqueen50 wrote:
Does anyone know what the additional professional reasons are going to be and when these might come in ?
.
I’m not even convinced the French government know…
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
DJL wrote:
If relaxation occurs any thought on the testing regime required? Looking at current list for all colours PCR or antigen required within 48hrs though there is the "special" 24hr at the moment for UK travellers (who have a pressing reason).

Looking to get ducks in a row for a possible 15 Jan departure (fingers crossed) and will order some antigen tests.


Sorry to be that person but does anyone know if there are any at home tests valid if the 48h antigen requirement comes back? E.g. those that authorise with a visual inspection or call vs those that just seemingly issue without a "lab certification"? Don't mind going to boots or something just so much more faff than doing at home...
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@javindo, previously under the 24 & 48hr antigen rules for France, the self-administered tests I used (Qured and Excalibur) worked fine. Both issue a "lab" certificate based on the test protocol and approvals, not based on your specific test. Excalibur is an instant app-based result and certificate generation.
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@javindo, C19Testing.com have them (I used them in the summer to come back from NL) and I think most of the other providers. Just need reliable delivery and sufficiently quick turn around (and ideally cheap as I'll need 4).
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@snowdave, Perfect - thank you!
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Something else to consider, I was looking at the current french Entry requirements and even for those permitted to enter there was a 48 hour quarantine rule for everyone, I may have misunderstood but that's a big blocker in itself for a weeks holiday.
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I believe the quarantine is for the unvaccinated ; no quarantine for those with a vaccination history
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Have just heard from our ATC at local airfield (we have a flying club) that France is opening up (for general travel) in next couple of days. It’s still too vague for me and we are still thinking of not holding on to France for weekend of 15th but switching to Italy instead. I’m not sure where they are getting their information from.
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@albob, ahh thanks, I thought I may have misunderstood, that's one positive I guess.
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Kimski44 wrote:
Have just heard from our ATC at local airfield (we have a flying club) that France is opening up (for general travel) in next couple of days. It’s still too vague for me and we are still thinking of not holding on to France for weekend of 15th but switching to Italy instead. I’m not sure where they are getting their information from.

I would hold fire - I think you might be ok for then…but that’s only my personal view..
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snowqueen50 wrote:
Kimski44 wrote:
Have just heard from our ATC at local airfield (we have a flying club) that France is opening up (for general travel) in next couple of days. It’s still too vague for me and we are still thinking of not holding on to France for weekend of 15th but switching to Italy instead. I’m not sure where they are getting their information from.

I would hold fire - I think you might be ok for then…but that’s only my personal view..


Based on nothing at all, I have 15th Jan as a likely date. I have (moveable) flights for the evening of 14th Jan booked…
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Kimski44 wrote:
Have just heard from our ATC at local airfield (we have a flying club) that France is opening up (for general travel) in next couple of days. It’s still too vague for me and we are still thinking of not holding on to France for weekend of 15th but switching to Italy instead. I’m not sure where they are getting their information from.


We're also going on the 15th, and while I can see changes being made before then, it's all too close and risky now, so we've just flipped to go to Italy. Obviously depends a little on how easy it is to cancel your French arrangements, and how easy it is to find something in Italy at short notice.
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The uncertainty is frustrating. We're booked for the 22nd, and it looks like there's a decent change of it happening now, *but* today's the last day I can cancel for free, so I think I'm going to pull the plug.
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Handy Turnip wrote:
Kimski44 wrote:
Have just heard from our ATC at local airfield (we have a flying club) that France is opening up (for general travel) in next couple of days. It’s still too vague for me and we are still thinking of not holding on to France for weekend of 15th but switching to Italy instead. I’m not sure where they are getting their information from.


We're also going on the 15th, and while I can see changes being made before then, it's all too close and risky now, so we've just flipped to go to Italy. Obviously depends a little on how easy it is to cancel your French arrangements, and how easy it is to find something in Italy at short notice.


It’s our own place which has advantages and disadvantages! Obvs no issue with moving the trip back even a couple of days, but paying someone else for accommodation isn’t ideal!
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Waiting for information to trickle out in the coming days is excruciating but I find some solace in the mutual agony we're all going through!
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under a new name wrote:
@robs1, I am not convinced that restricting the uk market makes a huge difference overall. It's 13% of the normal market and over xmas ny certainly much of that was made up by holiday hungry europeans.

I've seen any figure from 10 to 40 percent from Brits.
Not getting into an argument but uk trade with the eu is 8% of gdp and that is meant to be a disaster if we lost it
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James77 wrote:
Waiting for information to trickle out in the coming days is excruciating but I find some solace in the mutual agony we're all going through!


Same, we have flights to Lyon with BA on the 26th and accommodation that has to be cancelled by the 19th. At this stage we are confident that it will go ahead, but wont risk the going unconditional on the accomodation so the 19th is our drop dead date.
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robs1 wrote:
under a new name wrote:
@robs1, I am not convinced that restricting the uk market makes a huge difference overall. It's 13% of the normal market and over xmas ny certainly much of that was made up by holiday hungry europeans.

I've seen any figure from 10 to 40 percent from Brits.
Not getting into an argument but uk trade with the eu is 8% of gdp and that is meant to be a disaster if we lost it


might be 10% of the footfall but 40% of the revenue.
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robs1 wrote:
under a new name wrote:
@robs1, I am not convinced that restricting the uk market makes a huge difference overall. It's 13% of the normal market and over xmas ny certainly much of that was made up by holiday hungry europeans.

I've seen any figure from 10 to 40 percent from Brits.
Not getting into an argument but uk trade with the eu is 8% of gdp and that is meant to be a disaster if we lost it


Apparently Brits represent 40% of some resorts’ business (Val d’Isere and Morzine have been mentioned), 12% is the national average - but I’m not sure how they measure “business” - if they mean visitor numbers then I suspect the % of revenue will be higher than 12% as Brits tend to eat, drink and spend more in resort than (eg) the French who tend to drive and self-cater.
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It's clear that a lot of Brits are actively switching from France to other destinations. Even if Macron stopped his Brit-bashing restrictions sometime soon, French ski resorts are still going to miss out, because many people (especially those with families) have already made other arrangements. Of course, those who do make it may find emptier slopes than normal, so they may see that as a plus.
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handy turnip wrote:


We're also going on the 15th, and while I can see changes being made before then, it's all too close and risky now, so we've just flipped to go to Italy. Obviously depends a little on how easy it is to cancel your French arrangements, and how easy it is to find something in Italy at short notice.


andy from embasy wrote:
It’s our own place which has advantages and disadvantages! Obvs no issue with moving the trip back even a couple of days, but paying someone else for accommodation isn’t ideal!


That definitely helps! snowHead It's tricky as everyone's situation is different, and as much as it's great getting a gauge on here about what people's feelings are, everyone has got to work out what suits there own situation the best (and also there own tolerance to risk). For you, you can afford hold and gamble a little, and I think it'll pay off as I think restrictions will be lifted.

However for PaulO78 completely understand the reason for pulling the plug - especially if it means moving the holiday rather than just cancelling it. You still get a ski holiday, and protect yourself from losing money on the french holiday.

Quote:
The uncertainty is frustrating. We're booked for the 22nd, and it looks like there's a decent change of it happening now, *but* today's the last day I can cancel for free, so I think I'm going to pull the plug.
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robs1 wrote:
under a new name wrote:
@robs1, I am not convinced that restricting the uk market makes a huge difference overall. It's 13% of the normal market and over xmas ny certainly much of that was made up by holiday hungry europeans.

I've seen any figure from 10 to 40 percent from Brits.
Not getting into an argument but uk trade with the eu is 8% of gdp and that is meant to be a disaster if we lost it


I think the 15% figure is pure numbers of visitors, and not the actual spend.
The major resorts in France are in the Tarantaise, Morzine / Avoriaz / Les Gets and Alpe d'Huez and Les 2 Alpes. Pretty much each and every one of those is hugely dependent on visitors from the UK, and the actual spend (which is the relevant bit) is in excess of 50% in almost all of those resorts.

The resorts in places like the Maurienne valley are not reliant on UK visitors, and the likes of Chamonix are a year round destination which is busier in the summer than the winter.
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mitcva wrote:
It's clear that a lot of Brits are actively switching from France to other destinations. Even if Macron stopped his Brit-bashing restrictions sometime soon, French ski resorts are still going to miss out, because many people (especially those with families) have already made other arrangements.


Yes I agree - it may be a case that many resorts and business won't see a huge and immediate impact, and maybe the demand has been replaced by other nations - but there will be some impact. People are potentially switching their holidays to countries they've not been to before (I'm off to Italy on the 15th for the first time!) - maybe they'll have a great time, and want to go back; maybe they'll come home and rave to their friends how good the new resort\country was. Maybe people booking early for Dec/Jan next season, might play it safe and try to avoid France because there is a feeling (righly or wrongly) than France might be stricter on entry requirements if we see another spike next winter. Lots of maybe's in there i know!
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PaulO78 wrote:
The uncertainty is frustrating. We're booked for the 22nd, and it looks like there's a decent change of it happening now, *but* today's the last day I can cancel for free, so I think I'm going to pull the plug.


Probably too late to ask, but would you not consider asking for an extension on the go-no go date?
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