Bonjour! France welcoming back vaccinated tourists

PARIS: A stroll in Pablo Picasso's footsteps in Montmartre; breathing in the scents of Provence; a humbling walk along D-Day beaches: These and all of France's other attractions will once again become easily accessible to most foreign tourists from next week, if they are vaccinated.

France is putting itself back on the menu as a destination for international tourists who have had coronavirus jabs.

The government announced Friday that it is removing the need for coronavirus tests for vaccinated Europeans and allowing vaccinated tourists from most of the rest of the world, including the United States, to also come back, provided they have a negative test.

The relaxed rules will kick in from Wednesday, offering a boost for France's tourism sector. Tourism will not be possible, however, from countries wrestling with virus surges and worrisome variants.

This "red list" for the moment has 16 countries, including India, South Africa and Brazil. Outside of Europe, most of the rest of the world is classed as "orange" in the new travel rulebook released Friday by the French government.

Vaccinated visitors from "orange" countries, including the United States and Britain, will no longer need to quarantine on arrival and will no longer have to justify the reasons for their trip to France.

They will, however, still be asked for a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours or a negative antigenic test of no more than 48 hours.

Unvaccinated children will be allowed in with vaccinated adults. European visitors and those from seven countries classed as 'green' " Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore" will no longer need to undergo testing if they're vaccinated.