The French government has today dropped two major Covid rules ahead of the Easter and summer influx of tourists.
From today, vaccine certificates will no longer be needed for entry into bars, restaurants and other indoor venues.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, French officials have been extremely strict with virus rules, and are some of the last to make the move towards normality.
Before the easing, all tourists and locals had to show proof of vaccination, recovery, or a medical letter of exemption from vaccination in order to be issued with a ‘pass vaccinal’ for indoor activities.
Additionally, the mandate on masks has been dropped today, and people must now only wear them on public transport and in hospital settings.
Prime Minister Jean Castex warned there has been an increase in cases - after reporting 60,000 today - but decided to continue with the planned easing citing "the improvement in hospitals" and "high vaccine coverage."
The rule change will come as a relief to many Irish passengers heading to France over the coming months, with very few restrictions left to adhere to on arrival.
Meanwhile, the latest advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs says that Irish passengers travelling to any French destination must still:
- complete the EU-PLF form, which is for travellers arriving on the territory of a European Union Member State
- show proof of complete vaccination, present a certificate of recovery dated more than 11 days and less than 6 months prior to the date of arrival or resent a negative RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to your departure
