French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that it was unlikely that French people would be able to undertake major foreign trips this summer and that even trips within Europe may have to be limited in order to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic.
“It is too soon to say whether we can take holidays. What I can say is that we will limit major international travel, even during the summer holidays. We will stay among Europeans and, depending on how the epidemic evolves, we might have to reduce that a little more. We will know early June,” Macron told reporters during a visit to a school outside Paris.
France is set to end its lockdown on May 11, when people will be allowed to move up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) around their residence without a justification form. Movement beyond 100 kms will still need a justification form.
Macron called for caution and “pragmatism” regarding travel outside the 100-kilometre zone to avoid accelerating the spread of the virus into low infection zones.
France released a colour-coded map last week, dividing the country into zones ranging from red, for high infection areas, to green for low infection zones. The map is designed to serve as a reference for lockdown easing measures.
In an interview with French TV stations TF1 and France 2, Macron called on green zone residents to also exercise caution by maintaining social distancing. “Let’s be very clear: We know how the virus works and for whom it is very dangerous,” the French president said. “For someone who is fragile and old, even the green zone is very dangerous.”
