France is aiming to lift its travel restrictions in phases starting at the beginning of May. The reopening plans would include Americans, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who shared details with CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
President Macron added that he has been in touch with the Biden Administration regarding reopening travel between the countries. He added that France would likely implement “a special pass” for travelers to indicate they have been vaccinated. Macron also implied Americans may be able to visit with a negative PCR test.
“We are building a European certificate to facilitate the travels after these restrictions between the different European countries with testing and vaccination,” President Macron said. “And the idea indeed is altogether to offer that to the American citizen when they decide to vaccinate or with a PCR test being negative. So, the idea is indeed to always control the virus, to maximize the vaccination and to progressively lift the restrictions.”
The idea of a “vaccine passport” has been thrown around quite a bit, with a group of more than 60 public and private travel and tourism organizations in Europe, as reported by our sister publication Travel Agent, showing support for the European Travel Commission’s “Digital Green Certificate.” This digital certificate would be proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has recovered from the virus or has a negative test result, which would “greatly facilitate safe free movement of citizens and restart of travel and tourism in the E.U.,” according to the group.
While he didn’t specify a date when the country would reopen or when Americans would be able to visit, it appears those stateside can expect to be able to book a summer vacation to France. “We will progressively lift the restrictions of the beginning of May, which means that we will organize in the summertime with our professionals in France for French European citizens, but as well for American citizens,” Macron said.
This article originally appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.
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