France Lifts ’Compelling Reason’ Requirement for Most International Travel

"The Council of State indicates that requiring a compelling reason constitutes a disproportionate infringement of the fundamental right that every French person has to access their country." Regarding the obligation that still applies to travel to or from the French West Indies, the Council of State considers "that it is justified by the desire to avoid tourist flows that could aggravate the health situation on site." Since January 31, many travelers from a country outside the European Union have been banned from entering France, including the French, unless they could provide a compelling family, health or professional reason, reports France24.

Last Thursday, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs proceeded to ease certain measures for travel to and from seven non-European Union countries, including the United Kingdom, given the already very strong circulation of the British variant of Covid-19. The restriction had led to protests. A month ago, the Collective of French People in North America and a dozen representatives of French people abroad, through a petition citing an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "everyone has the right to return to their country".

According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some 2.5 million French people live abroad, nearly half of them in Europe and 20% in the Americas. In Morocco, even though there are nearly 53,800 registered on the consular registers in 2020, it is estimated that there are more than 80,000 French nationals establishe