The US and Canada were on Thursday reclassified as “green” under France’s traffic list classification for Covid travel restrictions, which means Covid-19 cases are low enough to allow for people to travel more freely.

They had been classed as orange when the traffic light system was first announced on June 9th, but an announcement in the government’s Journal officiel signalled the change.

Arrivals from the two North American countries will now no longer have to go into quarantine on arrival in France, and will be able to enter the country without an “essential reason”, even if they have not been vaccinated.

Essentially that means non-vaccinated tourists or second home owners from the US or Canada are free to travel to France.

If they have not received both doses of the vaccine, travellers will have to present a negative PCR or antigen test taken less than 72 hours before boarding the plane.

Those who have been vaccinated will have to present proof of vaccination.

 EXPLAINED: How does France’s Covid traffic light system for travel work?

Before the reclassification from orange to green, unvaccinated travellers from US and Canada had to have an essential reason for travel and spend 7 days in self-isolation after arriving in France.

Earlier this week the EU also signalled it was adding the US to its Covid “white list” for travel. This was simply a recommendation to EU member states, who decide border policy independently.

Also on the green list are all EU and Schengen zone countries as well as countries where the virus is not circulating widely such as Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Lebanon

In other changes announced on Thursday, Turkey passed from red to orange whilst Afghanistan, Paraguay and Maldives were added to the red list – meaning travel from those countries to France is essentially barred for most people.