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US authorities warn against travel to France due to rise in Covid cases

The top American health agency urged travellers on Monday to avoid France, adding the country to its maximum alert level for Covid cases.

Published: 10 August 2021 08:56 CEST
US authorities warn against travel to France due to rise in Covid cases
A sign indicates the way to a health control point at Charles de Gaulle airport. Photo: Ian LANGSDON / POOL / AFP.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added France and French Polynesia to its “Level 4: Very High” list for Covid-19 levels, as French authorities grapple with a fourth wave of the virus.

“If you must travel to France, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel,” the CDC guidance states.

“Because of the current situation in France, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”

The US State Department was even more clear in its travel advisory published on Monday: “Do not travel to France due to COVID-19.”

The travel warning is advisory only, but can invalidate travel insurance if you travel against official advice.

The move came on the same day that France introduced health passports for many daily activities, including visiting a café and taking a high-speed train.

READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the USA or Canada

France has managed to slow down the rise in Covid infections over the last ten days as the graph below from Le Parisien’s journalist Nicolas Berrod shows, but case numbers remain high, particularly in popular tourist destinations on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and in France’s overseas territories.

Lockdown measures have been introduced in the overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique in the Caribbean and the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and many local authorities have reintroduced measures such as mandatory masks outdoors.

France is currently averaging 22,294 new Covid cases per day.

The United States is currently on France’s green travel list, meaning that anybody can travel to France for any reason from the USA, regardless of their vaccination status.

The CDC also added Iceland, Israel, Thailand, Aruba and Eswatini to its Level 4 list on Monday. Other European countries like Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the UK were already on the list, which represents the highest of four categories of countries based on Covid levels, ranging from “Low” to “Very High”.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Explained: What to do if you leave your belongings on a train in France

Here's a look at the steps you should take if you discover that you have left an important or treasured item on a French train.

Published: 3 July 2024 14:59 CEST
Explained: What to do if you leave your belongings on a train in France

We’ve all done it. You get home, or to your hotel or office to realise that, when you got off the train, you forgot to pick up your wallet, laptop, or tablet or sometimes even items of luggage.

Or – every parent’s nightmare – one of your children has left behind their beloved cuddly toy, and only realises as the train you’ve just got off leaves the station.

The good news is that all is not, necessarily, lost. 

The first step is to report the missing item to SNCF. You can do this at the station, but if you’ve got home before you realise something is missing, you can report lost property online (you can change the language of the website).

You will need to describe what you’ve lost, when you lost it, and which train you were travelling on – as well as giving your contact details. 

What happens next

First of all, you will be given a declaration number. Keep it safe – it allows you to track the progress of SNCF’s search for your lost property.

Even so – we have to be honest – the investigation relies a fair bit on good fortune. If your lost property is found on the train by a member of staff, or handed in at a station, then there’s a good chance you’ll get it back. 

It may be that your lost property has already been handed in. If so, it will be registered on SNCF’s national lost property database and kept for 30 days at the station where the item was picked up or, for items forgotten on a train, at the station where they arrived.

Deadline

The database is monitored in real-time matching found items with reports of lost property. When your property has been located, you will be informed, and can go to the station where it is stored, or have it sent to your home address, subject to a shipping charge.

If you do collect it from the station, take along proof of ID – and expect to pay a fee of up to €10, depending on the value of the property you have reported missing.

And, after 30 days?

If items of lost property are not claimed after 30 days, it may be handed over to the government’s Administration des domaines, sold to a charitable organisation or destroyed.

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