A (Probably-Maybe-Most Likely) Return to France!

On Thursday, April 29th, President Macron announced the intention to allow Americans into France starting June 9th!

Macron outlined his re-opening plan in a rare newspaper interview (in French), including some very politic responses to questions. Thankfully, France has begun easing out of its lockdown, though the full process will not be complete before tourists are allowed back in.

Beyond the lockdown, there are other considerations before you book that flight!

The Caveats

Pass Sanitaire

There are caveats, of course. First, you will need to have a pass sanitaire (health pass). Macron is apparently leaving the details of this pass to the French Parliament to decide. More information is expected the week of May 10th. While we wait, The Local detailed what the health pass pilot program looks like. Surprisingly, it is an app, not a document! A step forward for the paper-loving French. 😀

The pilot program utilized the French national COVID app (in French), which is currently available only to French residents. Most likely there will be a separate app for us or perhaps they will piggyback on the as-yet-unreleased EU health passport app.

Rightfully, there are discussions about the potential for creating a two-tiered caste system of vaccine “haves” and “have-nots.” How this discussion will impact what Parliament implements remains to be seen. But for the tourist, expect to need proof of vaccination and/or proof of a clean PCR test in order to travel to France.

Vaccination Distribution

The second caveat is that, while you may be vaccinated, a vast majority of the French population isn’t yet. Currently, the plan is to open up vaccines to all adults on June 15th. As of this writing, they are vaccinating seniors 55+, medical staff, immunocompromised peeps, and now the obese and those with other risk factors.

Continued Uncertainty

Lastly, while most places that tourists want to see will be open (probably with restrictions), there is a chance it could go pear-shaped. Coronavirus is a tricksy opponent. If you travel, make sure you and your reservations are flexible!

What are your thoughts? Will you be on the first plane to Paris? Or wait it out a bit? Let me know below!

What will I do? I’m going to wait it out a bit. Though Air France is definitely trying to tempt me with their new direct Denver to CDG flights (so excited)! However, I want to see how this all plays out before spending very hard earned money on a trip!

In Other News

Unrelated to our slow march back to normal, I have some happy news for the website! I have created a Buy Me a Tea donation page to help support the PGB cause. If you enjoy the content here and would like to support it with a small contribution, you can now do so through this magic button:

Right now, the Buy Me a Tea option is simply a one-time donation but I hope in the future to expand it to include a membership opportunity and some freebies for my kind supporters. Sort of a Patreon-lite. 🙂

More Info: Buy Me a Tea uses the Buy Me a Coffee platform. You can choose one tea or several, in preset multiples. There are no additional charges to the donor. See the Support Page for more detail.

Merci beaucoup for even reading this section and a huge thank you in advance should you wish to donate!

Au revoir for now. Next up, more Moveable Feast (for reals this time)!

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Image Credits:
Eiffel Tower: October 2018 by the author. ©Michelle Keel
Air France Poster: Pinterest. PIN 235876099219809535. Poster artist: Pierre Baudouin (possibly 1947).
Air France Plane (Cover Image): Douglas C-47A (DC-3) F-BAXP of Air France at Manchester (Ringway) Airport in 1952. By RuthAS, on Wikipedia Commons. Photo taken 6 July 1952. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.