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What does the UK government’s ‘amber traffic light’ mean for travel to France?

As the UK government prepares to allow travel again, France has been placed on the amber list - here's what it means for people travelling between France and the UK.

What does the UK government's 'amber traffic light' mean for travel to France?
Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP

At present the UK rules prohibit travel out of the country for non-essential purposes, meaning holidays to France are not possible, although there is an exemption in the rules for second-home owners – full details here.

However, this will be lifted from May 17th, and at that stage the “traffic light” system will kick in.

This involves giving each country a designation – red, amber or green – based on data including case numbers and vaccination rates in the country.

The list was published on Friday and France, along with almost all European countries has been given an ‘amber’ rating.

The list as published applies only to England. The devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have not announced when they will lift travel restrictions but have not so far indicated that they intend to impose different rules to England’s.

MAP: Where in France are Covid cases falling?

However not being on the green list doesn’t mean that travel isn’t allowed – it just means that people will have to quarantine and test on arrival in the UK.

People can travel from amber list countries to the UK for any reason – there is no need to prove that your trip is essential and entry is not limited to UK nationals or residents.

However, there are rules on testing and quarantine in place.

Arrivals must;

  • Have a negative Covid test to show at the border
  • Complete the passenger locator form – find that HERE
  • Quarantine for 10 days – this can be done in a location of their choice including the home of a friend or family member and there is no need to pay for a ‘quarantine hotel’.
  • Arrivals also have to pay for travel-testing kits which cost around £200 per person.
  • Essentially this the regime currently in place for most arrivals.

If France in the future makes it onto the green list, then no quarantine is necessary, but a negative Covid test is required to enter the country, plus another test on or before day 2 of their stay. 

The French rules

The above is what you need to know to enter the UK, but what about travelling the other way?

Travel into France from the UK is currently allowed for all purposes, including tourism, family visits and second-home owners. France plans to open up tourism from all non-EU countries from June 9th, but there was already an exemption in place for seven non-EU countries, including the UK.

READ ALSO Who can travel to France as the country lifts its lockdown?

Until May 3rd, France’s lockdown rules banned all non-essential travel of more than 10km, which in effect ruled out most trips, but that has now been lifted and travel within France for all purposes is again allowed with no need for permission forms.

There is still a curfew, however, and plenty of other closures and restrictions in place until at least June – find the full calendar for lifting lockdown HERE.

All arrivals into France need to present a negative Covid test, taken within the previous 72 hours. This test must be a PCR test. You also need to fill in a declaration stating that you do not have Covid symptoms and have not been in contact with anyone who has. You can find the form HERE.

Once in France, travellers from the UK are asked to quarantine for seven days and then take a second test. The quarantine can be done at a location of your choice and it is not enforced by police, unlike the strict quarantine in place for arrivals from ‘high risk’ countries including India and South Africa.

The UK currently advises against its nationals visiting France for leisure or tourism purposes – this doesn’t mean that you can’t go, but this official advice can invalidate your travel insurance, so check your policy before travel.

What about vaccine passports?

Neither France not the UK as yet have vaccine passport systems up and running, although France is expected to have a ‘health pass’ in operation by June 9th, which will allow people to upload either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative Covid test.

READ ALSO How will France’s ‘health pass’ work?

That means that, for the moment, even fully vaccinated people will have to abide by the testing and quarantine rules.

Member comments

  1. Can I stay one night in France (driving en route to Italy, permitted business) without having to quarantine.

    Lots of advice of rules for staying in France, but none for transiting.

    Thank you for advice!

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BRITS IN FRANCE

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

They might not love British cuisine but the UK remains a very popular destination for French people to visit, while thousands of them also want to make the move permanently.

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

Almost three million French tourists travel to the UK every year with the country’s vibrant cities, history and culture given as the top reasons for their trip.

And a recent survey has revealed a surprisingly positive view of their neighbour from French people – with one exception.

The French participants in the study were asked to rank 60 different countries based on several different topics – tourism, culture, people, exports, governance, immigration and investment. 

So what did they say about the UK?

Bad food

French survey respondents placed British food at the very bottom of the list – in 60th place out of all 60 countries. 

This is far lower than the UK’s average, which was 18th amongst the other nationalities interviewed.

In an interview with The Guardian about how the French feel about British food, the British comedian, Tatty Macleod, who was raised in France said “English food to [the French] is essentially fish and chips (…) they think of Brits as beer louts with unhealthy diets”.

This has been a longstanding feeling amongst the French – in 2018, another comedian, Al Murray, went across the Channel with the documentary series ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’

In France, he teamed up with radio host Antoine de Caunes, and when launching the programme, they conducted a small survey of several hundred viewers to find out the top 20 things the French ‘hate’ about the English.

There were a couple of food-related comments: “Their inability to cook” came in fourth place, the “lack of variety in their diet” took 11th place and “the fact that they put ketchup on everything” came in 12th place, according to a round-up by Ouest France.

It’s been suggested that many French people have bad memories of food they were given on school trips to the UK, often decades ago, and certainly bad food is a recurring theme in French films and TV shows about trips to the UK.

Worth visiting

Despite not having a taste for British cuisine, the French did have a positive view of UK tourism, placing the country 5th for both “vibrant city life and urban attractions” and for being “rich in historic buildings and monuments” in the IPSOS study.

According to Visit Britain, the UK welcomed 2.8 million tourists from France in 2022.

In the culture category in general, the French ranked the UK in third place out of all 60 countries. 

One aspect of British culture that French people seem to really enjoy is the royal family.

In 2021, 6 million people in France watched the funeral of Prince Phillip, 4 million watched the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the royal weddings of princes William and Harry attracted 9 and 8 million French viewers respectively.

Charles de Gaulle once remarked: “The French have a taste for princes, but they will always look abroad'”.

READ MORE: Why British royals are so popular in France

And in terms of visiting the UK, IPSOS’ findings are in line with previous data about where French people choose to go on holiday – the UK was the fourth most popular country among French people, as of 2019, according to Le Monde.

A 2021 study by Visit Britain also found that 10 percent of French people would pick the UK as their top global destination.

Moving to the UK

And there are plenty of French people who decide to make their stay a long-term or even permanent one.

The UK ranked in third place as of 2023 for French students to study abroad.

It also comes in third place – behind Switzerland and the US – for having the most French people living there.

After Brexit, over 240,000 French people applied for the EU settlement scheme in the UK from 2018 to 2021, and once applications were reviewed, approximately 130,000 received settled status and 93,100 received pre-settled status. 

Among the French, London is sometimes nicknamed ‘France’s sixth city’ due to the number of French people living there.

Polite, well-mannered and funny

The French ranked Brits in 21st place for the question “If visited, people would make me feel very welcome”. This is an increase of two spots from the 2022 results.

When scouring the internet, British politeness does come up often in French clichés about the UK.

Ouest France reported that over a third (36 percent) of French people interviewed for Al Murray’s show “appreciated the politeness and good manners of the English.”

Three out of every 10 people also thought Brits had a good sense of humour – and Brits felt this way about themselves too. 

In a 2009 survey exploring British views of the French, 71 percent of participants said that the French are ‘sexier’ than the British, but 80 percent said the British had a better sense of humour. 

READ MORE: Do the French really have no sense of humour?

Driving on the left-side

And finally, to get a better idea of French opinions about Brits, The Local turned to Google.

We searched both anglais (English) and britanniques (British) because the French do have a bit of a tendency to mix them up and refer to all inhabitants of the UK (and sometimes even the Irish) with the sweeping les anglais. 

The first suggested response had to do with driving on the left-side of the road, which also popped up in the survey by ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’ as the number 1 thing the French ‘hate’ about the British.

READ MORE: Tea and Dordogne: How do the French perceive the Brits?

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