“This requirement is likely to pose a lasting obstacle to the exercise of the fundamental right to join the national territory which all French people have”, justifies the Council of State.
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French people living abroad and not vaccinated will no longer be obliged to present a compelling reason to return to France if they come from countries classified red or orange, the Council of State ruled on Friday January 28. This obligation had been imposed on them last July in an article of decree. The article in question (23-1 of the decree of June 1, 2021 amended on July 30) “is canceled in that it imposes on French nationals who are not vaccinated” to justify a compelling reason, an urgent health reason or a professional reason that cannot be deferred.
“This requirement is likely (…) to create a lasting obstacle to the exercise of the fundamental right to return to the national territory available to all French people, without the health benefit of such a measure being manifestly such as to justify the infringement who is thus brought to this right”justifies the Council of State in its decision.
The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stipulates that all travelers outside the European Union, whether vaccinated or not, must present the result of a negative PCR or antigen test, carried out less than 48 hours before departure. Any traveler over the age of eleven must also “accept that a biological screening test or examination (…) can be carried out upon arrival on national territory” and “commit to respecting voluntary isolation for seven days after arriving in France” by carrying out a new test at the end of this period.