France to begin lifting coronavirus travel restrictions from Monday

France will open its borders to travelers from most European countries beginning Monday, ending months of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

As of June 15, travelers from most EU countries, EFTA nations (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), as well as Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican, and Andorra, will be free to travel to France by land, air or sea without the obligation of quarantine or other restrictions, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement.

The measures will be lifted for passengers from Spain on June 21, the date Spanish authorities have said they will retract their own restrictions.

Travelers from the U.K. will be allowed to enter France but will have to submit to a 14-day quarantine, which the French ministry said is in response to the U.K.’s recent quarantine mandate concerning passenger arrivals from the EU.

France joins a growing list of European countries to lift most travel restrictions put in place mid-March in response to the pandemic. Paris’ move follows the recommendation of the European Commission, which this week urged members of the passport-free Schengen area to begin rolling back border controls.

In a second step, the interior ministry said it would begin relaxing restrictions on travel from countries outside of the EU on July 1, in accordance with the Commission’s recommendations.

University students would be given priority for entry, regardless of their country of origin, the ministry said.