Eiffel Tower becomes a test center: travelers to France expect strict rules


Eiffel Tower becomes a test center
Travelers to France expect strict rules

The corona numbers in France are increasing rapidly – stricter measures are now supposed to stop the spread. Tourists also have to adjust to new requirements. A visit to the Eiffel Tower can be expensive in the future. After a transition phase, there will also be controls and sanctions.

Due to the significantly increasing number of corona infections, France has tightened the requirements for locals and tourists. Since Wednesday, a so-called health pass has been mandatory in sights such as the Paris Eiffel Tower as well as in amusement parks, concert halls, museums or cinemas with at least 50 visitors. It provides information about a vaccination, a survived infection or a negative corona test. If you can show your passport, you no longer have to wear a mask at the relevant locations, even in closed rooms.

Tourists or other France travelers from abroad can prove a complete vaccination, for example with the EU-wide Corona certificate on their mobile phones. A negative corona test must usually be no more than 48 hours old and can also be in paper form. Violations can result in fines of up to 1500 euros. At the beginning of August, the obligation to test will then be extended to cafes, restaurants and long-distance trains. The health pass is already valid in discos and festivals.

Corona test tents were set up at the Paris Eiffel Tower. There, visitors can do a rapid antigen test without a vaccination or proof of a survived infection, as the operators announced. Foreign tourists have to pay 25 euros for this. Initially, the French European Ministry had promised free corona tests for tourists in the summer; then, however, the government made a U-turn.

For several weeks now, foreigners without a French residence have had to pay up to 29 euros for a rapid antigen test and 49 euros for a PCR test. Many pharmacies and local laboratories offer this. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a one-week transition period before tightened controls. Only after the “pedagogy” came the “time of sanctions”, he told the TV broadcaster TF1. At the same time, he emphasized that the health pass would not be introduced in French schools. Instead, there will be targeted vaccination campaigns for young people.

Overall, according to his information, the government has set itself the goal of vaccinating 50 million people with at least one first dose by the end of August. So far, around 38 million French people have received a first dose. Overall, 46 percent of the 67 million citizens are fully vaccinated.

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