Paris – Travellers entering France or the nation’s overseas territories will from Wednesday be required to carry a permit, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The move, which comes into force with immediate effect, requires travellers to fill out a form to show at border crossings or before boarding a plane destined for French territory.
The form, which is available in English and French on the Interior Ministry website, asks passengers to state their reason for travel.
The requirement also applies to those needing to cross into France from another EU country to work.
Staff on ships and planes are also required to carry the document, the ministry said, as well as those involved in the transport of goods across French borders.
France has been under strict lockdown since mid March.
Under current rules, residents are required to carry with them a permit stating their reasons for leaving their houses.
Police are strictly enforcing the measures.
The move came as the French Defence Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that around 40 crew members of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle are suspected to have contracted the coronavirus.
The crew members, who are under close medical supervision, have been put in isolation on board the vessel as a precaution.
They only recently began showing symptoms of the coronavirus, the ministry said in a statement.
The carrier’s medical ward is equipped with ventilators, it added.
The carrier is currently making its way back to its home port in the Mediterranean from the Atlantic.
(dpa/NAN)
