The reopening plan as outlined by French president Emmanuel Macron last week has four stages – with the option to delay later stages if numbers rise. Later stages could also be delayed in certain areas if case numbers remain high.

IN DETAIL: France’s calendar for reopening after lockdown

But there are some definite changes on Monday, May 3rd, which marks the beginning of phase one.

End of 10km rule

For the past month, trips out of the home have only been allowed within a 10km radius. Any trips of further than 10km have only been allowed for essential reasons.

However, from Monday this restriction is lifted and travel is allowed within France for any reason. Travel between regions of France is also allowed for any reason.

End of daytime attestations

Linked to the end of the 10km rule is the end of attestation permission forms for trips out between 6am and 7pm. After 7pm the curfew remains in place, trips out after 7pm require both an essential reason and an attestation. You can find the list of accepted reasons HERE.

Restart of (some) tourism

Travel into France from EU countries as well as seven non-EU countries – including the UK, Australia and New Zealand – is again allowed for any reason including tourism, family visits and visits from second-home owners. Travel from those countries was technically allowed before, but in effect the 10km rule scuppered most non-essential trips.

READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the UK

There are still rules in place relating to testing and quarantine, however, find the full rules HERE.

Travel from the rest of the non-EU countries is provisionally set to restart in June.

All schools return to in-person teaching

Schools in France returned from the rescheduled Easter holidays on April 26th, but secondary schools and high schools (collèges and lycées) had online teaching for their first week of term. On Monday, collèges return to largely full-time in-person teaching, with the option of retaining up to 50 percent of teaching for the two oldest year groups. Lycées have the option of retaining up to 50 percent of online learning, with decisions taken on a local level.

Restrictions still in place

The rest of the restrictions remain in place, including the 7pm curfew, the closure of non-essential shops and working from home for those who can.

The next key date in the calendar is Wednesday, May 19th when – if the health situation permits – cafés, bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen their outdoor terraces, non-essential shops can reopen and the curfew moves back to 9pm.

You can find the full calendar of reopening dates HERE.

Or you could check out Emmanuel Macron’s Instagram account, which features a series of graphics outlining the reopening which have lead some people to unkindly suggest that he looks like he’s about to launch an album entitled Réouverture (reopening).

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Emmanuel Macron (@emmanuelmacron)