France will allow fully vaccinated travellers from most countries to visit with a negative Covid-19 test from next week.
Those who are unvaccinated from all but a handful of countries will have to quarantine for seven days, provide a negative test result and proof of a compelling reason to visit.
The new rules were announced on Friday as France – which the UN’s World Tourism rankings said was the world’s most-visited country in 2018 – attempts to revive the struggling tourism sector after emerging from its third lockdown.
From June 9, countries will be organised into three categories, with vaccinated visitors from “green” nations accepted with no entry requirements.
All EU nations are green, as well as seven other countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
The UK, US, Middle East and most of the rest of the world are classified as “orange” – but vaccinated travellers from those destinations still need a negative PCR test to enter. Those who haven’t been inoculated against Covid-19 can only enter for valid reasons and must self-isolate upon arrival for a week.
Red-zone countries include Brazil, India and South Africa and severe restrictions remain in place.
France only recognises the vaccination status of travellers inoculated with those shots approved by the EU – Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, junior minister for tourism, told BFM TV the new rules should protect the country from imported infections.
“We have to reconcile the principle of mobility with the principle of health security,” he said.
“Nothing would be worse than to fall back into an umpteenth wave of Covid in coming weeks or months because we haven’t taken sufficient precautions.”
More than a year on, the pandemic continues to foil European travel as the crucial summer season approaches.
On Thursday, the UK announced it would remove Portugal from its green list of quarantine-free countries less than two weeks after lifting the ban on foreign travel.
The UK's red list was expanded to include Egypt and Bahrain.
In France, the move to ease entry comes as its vaccination rate accelerates amid a concerted effort among EU countries to establish immunity passes.
However, restrictions on travellers from the UK remain because of the spread of the Indian variant, now known as the Delta strain.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
