June 9 France Reopening

France has not announced a reopening for Americans on June 9th. They hope to reopen, but nothing has been set in stone.

Bets

According to the NYTimes and other news sources, June 9 is the day Americans can enter France. Two criteria - either a negative PRC or proof of vaccination gets you in.

Can you send a link to the source. The media keeps talking about reopening on June 9th, but does it ever say reopened to Americans? I believe it refers to other Schengen countries.

We received an email from the office of the French Député representing North America that implied that nothing has been settled.

"À ce stade, nous n’avons pas toutes les informations sur les possibilité de voyage pour cet été."

Just what he was referring to is not detailed but I get the impression that nothing has been settled for sure. I know

Here is the link to the US Embassy in France. https://fr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

I am feeling optimistic Americans will be allowed should France open its border to “foreign tourists”. We have plane tickets and an apartment booked for August— all refundable/changeable.

Macron stated that June 9th was the date by which foreigners were to be admitted into France with a health pass. Some interpreted this to mean anyone vaccinated. The US rejected the idea of vaccination passports, resulting in a sizable credibility gap in proving one is actually vaccinated.

I am sure something will be worked out eventually, but many think early June might be overly optimistic.

EDITED TO CORRECT: Macron said publicly the EARLY SUMMER date for welcoming American tourists in an American press interview, but so far there has not been any of the “official” (changes to legal underpinnings) stuff to make it happen, nor has it been detailed by either the Interior Ministry or the Foreign Ministry.

I am thinking since Macron said it himself, he will push his government to make it happen, and obviously they can move quickly if they want to, but as of yet no official announcement (with details) has been made.

Edited/added comment: I had earlier said that Macron had said June 9 in his Face the Nation interview, but that was incorrect.

In this Face the Nation interview he said “summer.” Was it here or a different interview? The idea had to have come from somewhere because an employee at the San Francisco French Consulate wrote that it “should be” open but they had no info.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-french-president-emmanuel-macron-on-face-the-nation-april-18-2021/

Travel and Leisure says June 9th for Americans also.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/france-reopening-allowing-american-tourists-june

We have been booked on a Sep Tauck tour in France since last year. Received an email this afternoon from them that the tour was going to happen. Tauck has been very conservative about decisions wrt tours since covid started. They would not have sent this unless very sure France would be open.

That's great news!

cj-traveler, the question is not will France be open in September, but will it be open June 9th as Macron has said.

I'm sure it will be open in July, Aug, Sept. The only question is waiting for the official announcement about June.
We'll be traveling with a French group to Rome in September. This French company has their tours ready to go but with the cancellation policy clearly stated.

will it be open June 9th as Macron has said.

Are you sure that is what he said?

I can find no reference, in the French press, to any Macron statement that did not qualify the June 9th opening as being for foreigners specifically with the pass sanitaire. Any statement from Macron that I can find, has only referenced an opening to those from the US this summer, nothing more specific than that.

Is it not possible that in their exuberance for France´s opening announcement, some, including the US press, have misinterpreted what has actually been stated?

Sorry, didn't mean to upset anyone. I only posted my comment to give some hope that France really was serious about opening. Tauck has a huge operation with lots of people behind the scenes with info the rest of us don't necessarily see. If they think travel will happen I feel fairly confident. They had canceled all European trips, except Iceland and Greece small ship tours, til the end of July. Not sure of the status of August trips. The cancellations have more to do with final trip payment due dates (60 days prior on land tours) than whether the country would be open. They don't want people making full final payments then having to deal with refunds, etc.

As to 9 Jun, I for one wouldn't book a trip assuming that date would be it if for no other reason than working out what proof of vaccination will be accepted. Tauck requires the CDC card or a negative PCR, but that is just their requirement. Still waiting to hear what France will want.

Tocard, yes, very possible the US Press “misinterpreted”, or spinned it as they often do.

Correct. I think the big miss was with the words: 9 juin avec pass sanitaire.

Many, many people automatically assumed that they would magically obtain a pass sanitaire at the border which is not the case.

Bets of course is right — I conflated the government's schedule for re-opening with what Macron said in his Face the Nation interview. He mentioned something like early summer. I will update my post above.

The journalists have been conflating it, too.

I just got an email from Delta with a list of countries to which they fly direct from the US that have announced openings: Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. France was not included although Delta has several direct flights there per day. So, no announcement yet.

Bets, did "etc" include Portugal?

No. But this was the list of countries that have declared their dates and to which Delta flies.

onefastbob has it right regrading people constantly missing important words like "plan" and "hope". I watched the Macron interview several times, and it was clear to me that he was mainly talking about planning to open to other countries, referring to EU countries not the US. He said something like "working with" or "in talks with" the White House, but nothing like a commitment. It makes sense that EU would be priority and that the EU sensibly recognized the need for a pass to document vaccination status. Their concern is more about cross-border business and work travel within EU, and less about tourism.

@stan - but he also mentioned it on a US News program, clearly the US is in the mix here.

France has one of the highest rates of infection in the EU, though like most EU countries, it's coming downwards and vaccinations are presumably increasing.

I think the caveat is as long as the situation doesn't deteriorate in the days leading up to June 9.

However, just in the last day, they imposed restrictions on UK travelers to France because of increasing cases of the Indian variant in the UK. That starts May 31. Austria, Germany and Switzerland have also imposed restrictions on arrivals from the UK.

Hope it's a short-term issue. Vaccination, especially 2 shots, is effective vs. the Indian variant, though less so than the UK variant.

Quelle confusion! - agree with aghast, caveat emptor. After a dismal 2020, the Europeans are anxious to welcome Americans and their tourist dollars back. Macron, Merkel, Draghi (Italy's PM), Greece and Spain have all announced they are "open to vaccinated Americans". The devil is of course in the details.

1. Nothing has been agreed on what the Green Pass looks like, other than the fact that all EU countries plus Switzerland must "unconditionally welcome vaccinated travellers" (Christine LaGarde). There is no actuall Green Pass yet, and most countries are still locked down...

2. Even if you scheduel a trip and the green pass is up, what will you find when you get there? Sadly, many restaurants, bars and other establishments that make Paris, Berlin, Rome etc famous, probably did not survive Covid. I personally would want to see city life fully back to normal in terms of things being open, hotels operating etc, before I spend money, time and hassle to get there.

3. There could be new lockdowns. Look at what is happening with the UK right now.

4. Then you have to get back into the US and that means you need a reliable 72 hour PCR testing set-up. Nothing here has been organized. We don;t know what their access to PCR tests is, where you would get them, or what the turnaround time is. Personally, I will be waiting until there is a clearly defined PCR testing protocol that is conducted either by the airlines or the hotels. Or once Biden has aloowed vaccinated travellers to enter the US without testing...

5. While major carriers to major cities may be OK, I would expect short haul routes on airlines such as Easyjet to be totally disrupted and chaotic for quite some time. Train travel may be a better bet.

Lots to be figured out.

To clarify aghast11: the new case rate in France is 10 to 40% of what it was just a few weeks ago, according to the country's Covid tracking app, TousAntiCovid, which I have on my phone. Vaccinations increased about a month ago when they finally got Pfizer. Over 24 million people have been vaccinated out of a population of 67 million. Thirty percent by June 15th is the target. Vaccinations will be open to all persons over 18 in all areas of France starting Monday.

To help possumracing47 with his/her/its/their confusion.
1. Each country can tweak the pass according to need. Le Pass Sanitaire was scheduled to be voted on and approved in the French Assemblée today.

1. An earlier prediction was that 30% of small businesses in France wouldn't survive. So far, restaurants serving outdoors are open and full, with distancing. Some with limited or no outdoor seating will open June 9th. Stores are reporting record sales. According to tonight's news report, business is starting to boom despite opening only one week ago. I'm ordering furniture for an apartment in France, but the backlog and wait time is long. Demand is high.

2. France is using a different vaccine than Great Britain and people are receiving the second shots without an expanded time interval. Different level of protection.

3. To return to the US, only an Antigen test is required, a quick test. These are in pharmacies all over France, as well as at the airports--for free. If testing at the airport, be sure to make an appointment. Use doctolib app to make medical appointments and test appointments.

5.Why would EasyJet have any more difficulties than others. They have their slots.

Finally--June 9th was the potential date to allow vaccinated EU travelers in. No mention has been made of when US travelers can go except "sometime this summer." Le Pass Sanitaire voted on today is to be used within France from June 9th on and for travel to and from other EU countries beginning July 1st. No mention has been made of visitors from elsewhere, except from those few magic countries with so few cases that their citizens need nothing to enter.

I'm headed to Avignon 6/28/21 and then to Paris 7/4/21. It's looking good for US travelers with either vaccine or negative pcr test 🤞🏼

https://thepointsguy.com/news/france-reopening-phases/

If I am looking for legal advice, I always go to a website that relies on advertising, rather than official sources...

FYI:
"The president of France has laid out a reopening plan that would allow “foreign tourists” with a health pass (tied to being fully vaccinated or having a negative COVID-19 PCR test) to enter France beginning June 9, 2021 if COVID-19 levels remain under control. It is not yet known if travelers from the United States will be included among the foreign tourists allowed to enter. Nor does the U.S. Embassy have any information at this time about what the “health pass” will be or how to obtain one. Interested travelers should visit the website for the French Embassy in the United States for the latest information. Updates will be provided on this page as we receive them.'
Government Official Resources:

U.S Embassy & Consulates in France: Covid-19 Information - https://fr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
French Embassy in the United States - https://franceintheus.org/
Coronavirus - Advice for Foreign Nationals in France - https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/.../coronavirus-advice.../
U.S. Department of State - France Travel Advisory - https://travel.state.gov/.../france-travel-advisory.html

Responding to Bets... I was speaking facetiously. I am not at all confused by the lack of any firm agreements concerning travellers right now: there are none. If one travels to Europe right now, one is on his or her own with respect to entry into the EU and entry into the U.S. To state or imply otherwise, is simply inaccurate.

1. There is no agreement at present on the Green Pass that the EU member countries are to use. Although EU minister Lagarde has clearly stated the governing prinicple that all members must unconditionally acceot vaccinated travellers, EU members retain full latitude at present to impose whatever restrictions they see fit, and they retain full latitude to set conditions for entering travellers. This may include quarantine requirements for travellers from certain destinations, restrictions on travel distances from a certain base (a concept the France has enthusiastically embraced), and so forth. There is also no set protocol among hotels or the hospitality industry with respect to Covid standards and restrictions for hotel stays. The list of uncertainties goes on.

2. While I am very happy to hear that many restaurants survived Covid, to claim that everything is perfectly normal, is again disingenuous. Many localities are still under some form or restriction, and many establishments still come up as "temporarily closed". That includes many hotels. So be sure to directly contact each property to ascertain status, especially before booking on an app like Booking.com. One should expect reduced room capacity due to distancing protocols and staffing issues. One should also assume that the properties that are open may be overbooking.

3. It is a fact that european airlines are not yet back to normal operation. Ryanair is hardly operating on the continent at all, neither is Norwegian, and Easyjet is currrently serving less than 30% of its former destinations and flight capacity. Furthermore, Easyjet and Ryanair are affected by the fact that they base out of UK airports... flights and entry may be unexpectedly restricted because of Covid. If a certain country is restricting entry from the UK, that affects any flight that transited trhough any UK airport on any part of it's route. Here again, suggesting that air travel and flights are perfectly normal, is simply incorrect. Air connections will probably return largely to normal in the fall, but this is not the case now or over the summer. Travellers should take precautions and plan accordingly.

Again, travelling by train or car and limiting one's trip this summer to a single country, is probably advisable. As far as rental cars are concerned, expect very high demand and limited availability of vehicles. As in the U.S., car rental companies such as Hertz and Avis dumped big parts of their fleet during 2020, and automobiles are in short supply due to electronics shortages which prevent manufacturers from completing vehicles on shedule.

1. PCR test to return to the USA - Here again, absolutely NOTHING has been agreed to between the US and France concerning what the US deems as acceptable for entry purposes at this time. The authorities of both countries have clearly stated as much. To suggest that one can grab a PCR test anywhere in Paris on the fly, show up for your flight at CDG, and get on a plane no problem, is mis-information. The US currently cannot even agree on which instant tests it deems relaible, or whether any instant test can be deemed reliable. And a traveller would be foolish to bank on a 72 hour results turnaround time in a foreign country, or even in the USA . Because "administered no more than 72 hours before your flight" really leaves only one day for the lab to process your result.

Here again, it is advisable to postpone travel until the US has agreed to a clearly-defined testing protocol and has specifically-approved tests. We are not there yet...

Very useful clarifications possumracing47 and excellent advice.

Getting a PCR would be more of a challenge time wise, but I've read accounts that those are faster nowadays. But, PCR availablitiy needs to be scouted out before setting out on a trip. And, avoid needing one during French vacation weeks: the lines can be long as the French are avid travelers when borders are open. An elderly family member stood in line for two hours at Christmas break. It's definitely off-putting. But they are free.

It's easier for US visitors who need only an antigen test, which are widely available and free in France. I had one at my local pharmacy in Montpellier in January with 15-minute results, and a second at CDG in February a half hour before checking in to fly to the States. The required protocols are clearly stated on US gov websites--but watch for changes .

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Then you have to get back into the US and that means you need a reliable 72 hour PCR testing set-up.

U.S. doesn’t require a PCR test for entry — just antigen.

Anyway, tests are easily obtained here.

PCR test to return to the USA - Here again, absolutely NOTHING has been agreed to between the US and France concerning what the US deems as acceptable for entry purposes at this time.

Except that the U.S. doesn't necessarily have to agree something new and specific with France — the U.S. already has in place (since January) its requirements for entry, which are an antigenic or PCR test.

There's some speculation that there is a late push for reciprocity from the US before American tourists are given the green light.

Supposedly the health and tourism ministers of Germany and France are making this push.

I don't believe Macron mentioned reciprocity in that CBS interview.

So if you haven't booked anything yet, may want to hold off or make sure it's refundable up to 24 hours before check-in because some hotels only offer refunds to like 2 weeks before check in.

aghast11. Very interesting info about the announcement delay.

However, reciprocity has been the understanding from the get-go. On French business-oriented website discussions, the questions are always about when the US will open. We tend to think only from the US tourist point of view, but the French waiting to come to the US often point out that the US closed its borders before France did.

In principle, I don't have anything against reciprocity.

But the EU states have offered no travel restrictions for visitors from Australia, some Asian nations and Israel without requiring reciprocity from those countries, allowing EU citizens to visit those countries without travel restrictions.

So why different treatment for different countries? Well those other countries have lower infection rates than the US or the EU, though infection rates are falling currently in both the US and EU.

But they could make Americans show proof of vaccination and negative recent test, which are arguably more meaningful about the likelihood of visitors subject to these requirements infecting EU citizens.

What is safer to Europeans, a fully-vaccinated American or an unvaccinated Australian?

Just don't claim these travel policies are based on science.

RG has a 9pm curfew which is such a mood kill.

Well, all of France has a 9 pm curfew (and it only got moved to as LATE as 9 pm two and a half weeks ago — before that it was 7 pm for a couple of months, and before that, it was 6 pm for a couple of months.

So to those of us who live here, we are enormously grateful that it is not until 9 pm. It makes a big difference.

for non-essential travel between the UK and France, today it has become very much more difficult than the already very difficult that it has been...

Although for non-essential travel from France into England France is on the England Amber List so it just requires 3 tests and quarantine, but legal. For non-essential travel from England to France the border has now completely closed.

Official rules for tourists entering France, starting June 9th.

https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2021/06/210603_dp-covid_frontieres_20h40.pdf

US and UK are both in the Orange list, meaning only vaccinated people from these countries can visit for tourism.

Vaccinated tourists from Orange countries still must produce PCR (72 hours) or Antigen (48 hours) test results.

. . .that is, only vaccinated tourists with proof of vaccination can enter for tourism.

We have yet to see from the French what they will accept as proof of vaccination.

Americans only have CDC cards. Some states have apps.

There are interviews with a French minister who said Americans have vaccinated a lot of people but have no digital certification. So that is why in addition to the CDC card, they want negative test results.

But he said they are in discussions with the US about digital certificates. EU has said some EU countries may opt to put people from outside the EU into their national green passes or basically allow them to download apps, create account and upload some proof of vaccination and negative test results.

Here is a terrific article written today explaining the step by step process by someone who just flew to France with the new guidelines:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/travel-to-reopened-france-covid/

CaliMom, The article in your link is super helpful, thank you for posting it.
My son and his girlfriend fly to Paris on 6/17.