Goldorak

you will explain that you are connecting from WAW and you can show the BP of the inbound flight.

Goldorak

I fear that your holidays in SBH are seriously compromised

Braniff

The list is very restrictive and obviously meant to deter travel. It seems outrageous that on the face of it French citizens cannot automatically return home. However, it continues to be a self-certification if I understand correctly. I suppose the true test will be if flight frequencies reduce significantly.

Goldorak

Indeed, but in practice I am sure that no French citizen or permanent resident will ever be refused entry when coming back. It will be a true scandal if this would happen and it will be all over the media.

IstKong

I think that it won't work, otherwise we would have a box in the new attestation for EU transit PAX.

The goal is to kill the vast majority of the few trips still happening to/from France, even for transit passengers.

One can only hope that all of those rules won't be accepted by the Conseil d'Etat. It's the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that they implement a formal "exit ban" and restrict entry in France even for French citizens, because they know that it's risky regarding fundamental rights. It looks like they already know that it's almost impossible to restrict travel to/from EU because of the EU treaties.

If those new rules are accepted by the Conseil d'Etat, then it opens the door to fines for french citizen returning home after leaving the country for vacations.

We sadly may soon enter in the very narrow circle of democracies banning exit of their own citizens (with Belgium and Australia). Merkel government tried last week but found that it was illegal. Netherlands choose the multiple test to make most trips almost impossibles instead of banning them. In Switzerland I think that it's also impossible to ban exit because of their legal system.

So hopefully we will still have Germany/Switzerland to enter/leave the EU for vacations. Maybe also Spain for LATAM destinations.

ChandlerWalker

My concern is if the connecting flights will even run... If no French nationals will be allowed on the flight, what is the likelihood that they will even operate. I cant seem to get an answer out of DL or AF as I have this situation coming up at the end of the week.

Chuvash

This is all for show and to deter people from traveling.

I am due to fly to France soon. If they ask me at the border (which I doubt they will) I will make sure to tell them I’m here on vacation. Guarantee they won’t deny entry.

IstKong

It does not apply to those who left before 31/01/21

Goldorak

I don’t have the same lecture as you. Mine is that those statements do not apply to pax transiting in France to another country.

Chuvash

As far as I understand that’s only if you are a returning French resident, which I’m not.

Either way as I said it’s just for show. I’ve gone in and out of France at least 7 times since September and I haven’t been asked for that “Déclaration” once.

brunos

Let's hope so.
The air travel reasons (excluding within EU) are:
- Leisure
- Business travel
- French nationals residing overseas (and vice versa).

There are well over 1 million such non-EU foreign residents. Many are not registered with local French consulate (studies suggest that up to 50%are not), so the number might be of the order of 2 millions. Similarly, there are many non-EU foreign nationals with French residence.
These dual national/residents make a significant (probably majority) proportion of current longhaul travel.

With the current rule, that I carefully studied, I and wifey would not be allowed back to France as my "residence principale" is not in France, eventhough I left before 31 January. Furthermore, most expats buy a X-CDG-X return ticket, so there would not be a outbound ticket to show. The list of "motifs impérieux personnel ou familial" is extremely restrictive.Seeing my family (kids and grandkids) back in France has become legally impossible, and I have not seen my family for a very long time.. It is a hefty price to pay to simply reduce overseas leisure travel. An efficient departure enforcement for leisure travel would have been sufficient. Any leisure traveller who is able to leave France from 31 January claiming some "cheating" motive, will be able to come back for the same motive.

I know that one can try to flout the rules, but the legal framework basically prohibits a lot of French nationals to enter France.It is a revolution.

It is sad that France has chosen a political rather than health motivation to design its travel policy. EU countries have a huge infection rate with all variants, but travel is little restricted, beyond PCR tests. Most Asian countries have a much much smaller infection rate, but incoming pax are not allowed. It is obvious that those countries impose restrictions on pax incoming from France, but why the reverse? If the objective is combatting covid and leisure travel, I find much more sensible the approach of several countries like the UK with a "red list" of countries where pax have staid, flight bans, etc...It is high covid-risk countries vs low covid-risk countries, taking into account traffic, i.e. destinations where a lot of tourists are likely to go.

Yul_voyager

Another point, it is easy to fly to Switzerland as a French citizen (as long as you are not coming from UK or South Africa), then you can take the train to enter in France... However according to the French ministry website you are not supposed to enter France without compelling reason even from the EU if you have been outside of the EU anytime during the last 30 days.
Not that I expect if you show a French passport and a PCR test in the Zurich - Paris TGV they will check your travel history, but still... this is kind of crazy. A French citizen living in North America could go on a ski vacation in Switzerland but couldn't travel to France to see his/her family (except if they are dying) or take some time off in his/her second home.

brunos

You see countries implementing a 14 days rule. A very few have extended it to 21 days. But France is the world champion with 30 days.

SkyteamEP

French citizens living outside of the Schengen area can't enter France freely anymore.

Goldorak

This is indeed incredibly sad. But...let’s wait : I am betting that either it will be judged illegal, or it will not be implemented or people will use loopholes travelling via another Schengen state. I sincerely hope.