France toughens rules for travellers from Britain as Omicron surges

The French government has introduced tougher rules for travellers from Britain to stymie the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to officials.

Travellers from Britain will be required to show a negative Covid test that is less than 24 hours old, to test again upon arrival and self-isolate for seven days, although that can be reduced to 48 hours if the second test is negative.

The new rules will come into force from midnight on Friday and tourism trips will be limited. Britain has faced a “tidal wave” of Omnicron cases with a surge in cases over the last week.

“We will put in place a system of controls drastically tighter than the one we have today,” government spokesperson Gabriel Attal told BFM television.

“We will reduce the validity of the test to come to France from 48 hours to 24 hours. We will limit the reasons for coming to France from the UK – it will be limited to French nationals and residents and their families.

“Tourism or business trips for people who do not have French or European nationality or are residents will be limited.

Attal said people will have to register on an app and the new measures will apply to everyone regardless of vaccination status.