“That’s excellent news” Patrick rejoices: Twenty months after their closure, the borders of the United States reopen, Monday, November 8, to foreign travelers. One moment eagerly awaited for FFrench people who live on American soil and who, for some, have not seen their loved ones since March 2020.
To enter the country, you will need to be vaccinated and present a negative PCR or antigen test of less than 72 hours. Air France is already preparing for an explosion in reservations over the coming months. This summer, the company offered 50% of flights compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 crisis. By March 2022, 90% of flights will be operated.
“Two years is a long time”, summarizes Patrick who has lived in the United States since 2016 with his wife and two children aged 6 and 11. He has been waiting for this reopening of borders for a long time. “My in-laws came to spend normally three weeks every year in November and for two years, this has not been possible”, he explains. As soon as they knew they could come back, Patrick’s in-laws took their plane tickets straight away. They will be on American soil from Tuesday, November 9. The French are also happy to see their friends again, “younger, working, and dependent on school vacations.” “They will be able to come and see us directly during the Christmas holidays, in February or at Easter”, says Patrick.
Aurore is another French expatriate with her husband since 2017 in the United States. She has not seen her family since January 2019, almost three years. Of course, the health crisis has not helped. There were calls, or videos to talk to each other, but that was not enough, according to her. “We are lucky to have good relations with our families, it is still important to see each other from time to time, to share real moments and to create memories together. And that is not possible. to do it via a phone. “
“No matter how much we love each other with all our hearts, there is still a distance that is created.”
Aurore, a Frenchwoman who lives in the United Statesto franceinfo
This estrangement has consequences for his family life and long-distance communications are far from sufficient. “The fact of seeing yourself on video with six hours of jet lag, sometimes seeing the whole family but having difficulty discussing with everyone. Of course, with a group of twenty people behind a telephone screen which sometimes malfunctions, we have trouble getting along “, explains Aurore. “We no longer share the same moments with them. We can no longer share anything real”, she concludes. Plane tickets are also reserved, Aurore will finally see her family again, in real life, in December.