France Calls British Travel Rules 'Discriminatory,' Not Science-Based

Voice of America
30 Jul 2021, 01:35 GMT+10

France's European Affairs Minister on Thursday called Britain's decision to lift quarantine requirements for all fully vaccinated travelers arriving from Europe except France "discriminatory and incomprehensible" and said he hopes it is reviewed as soon as possible.

Clement Beaune made the comments during an interview on French television a day after Britain announced it was dropping the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and the United States but that it would review rules for travelers from France only at the end of next week.

FILE PHOTO: French minister for European affairs Clement Beaune answers journalists as he arrives at a General Affairs meeting...

FILE - French minister for European affairs Clement Beaune arrives at a General Affairs meeting in Luxembourg, June 22, 2021.

The British government has said it is keeping quarantine rules for travelers from France because of the presence of the beta variant there. But Beaune told French broadcaster LCI the beta strain accounted for fewer than 5% of COVID-19 cases in France, and mostly occurred in overseas territories from where relatively few people traveled to Britain.

"We are saying to the British that, on the scientific and health levels, there are no explanations for this decision," he said.

In a Wednesday interview, British Transportation Minister Grant Shapps said the government will not be able to review the decision until the end of next week because they need to see the data.

Beaune said he will continue pressuring Britain to review the requirement, but said, for now, he is not planning to impose similar measures on British travelers to France.

Some information in this report came from Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.

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