On the German-French border: Hundreds protest against compulsory testing

Saturday 20th March 2021

On the German-French border
Hundreds of people protest against compulsory testing

Because a French department is declared a virus variant area, people who commute to Germany have to present a negative corona test upon entry. Hundreds of cross-border commuters are protesting against this. Thousands are likely to be affected by the regulation.

Hundreds of people protested at the German-French border against the stricter corona rules when entering Germany. They called for an end to mandatory testing for commuters, as the French news agency AFP reported in the evening from Sarreguemines (Saargemünd) in the Moselle department. According to the police, there were 600 participants, according to the organizers 1000.

With the classification of the administrative district of Moselle as a so-called virus variant area, the stricter rules have been in effect since the beginning of the month. When entering the neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, people from the department must show a negative corona test that is not older than 48 hours. A quick test is sufficient. This also applies to commuters.

According to earlier information, the federal police inspected the stricter test obligation in the border area to the Moselle region in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Around 16,000 people commute from Moselle to Saarland every day.