France to ditch travel testing rule for British holidaymakers – but not in time for half-term

Travellers arriving at French airports report that officials in the past 24 hours have not been asking for proof of a Covid test

Going places? Passengers at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (Simon Calder)

France is set to make yet another change to its complex Covid rules for British travellers.

Currently fully vaccinated arrivals from the UK must take a pre-departure test. The demand was introduced on 18 December at the same time as a general travel ban on British visitors to France, but is set to be dropped.

The travel ban was lifted last month, after almost four weeks, but the need for a pre-departure test remains – even though new coronavirus infection rates in France are far higher than in the UK.

Last weekend, the 24-hour testing window before departure was extended to 48 hours.

Some travellers arriving at French airports in the past 24 hours, including Nice and Paris Charles de Gaulle, report that officials have not been asking for proof of a negative Covid test

In an interview on France 2 on Tuesday, the European Affairs minister, Clément Beaune, said the test requirement is to be scrapped. But he declined to give details of when the change would take place.

Many schools break up for a week’s half-term on Friday 11 February. A family of four heading for France will typically pay £100 for their lateral flow certificates.

In addition, domestic vaccination rules in France are set to tighten on 15 February. While British double-jabbed visitors and their children aged under 18 are able to access France with few formalities beyond the test, accessing venues will become tougher - two-dose “full vaccination” will expire four months after the second jab from this date, meaning many adults will need a booster jab to be considered fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile changes to the tough restrictions currently in force in the Netherlands are set to be relaxed. A Dutch minister described the shutdown of much of the leisure economy as “not sustainable”.

British visitors to the Netherlands must provide a lateral flow test result taken in the 24 hours before departure, and only arrivals who have a booster vaccination are exempt from 10 days of self-isolation.