France Urges 14-Day Voluntary Quarantine for Arrivals from Outside EU

"Starting Wednesday, we will ask the French who are returning from other countries, outside Europe, to voluntarily quarantine themselves for 14 days to protect themselves and their loved ones," Jean-Yves Le Drian said on LCI.

The government had meanwhile decided to impose this 14-day quarantine or isolation of people entering the national territory, or arriving in Corsica or in an overseas community, without the intervention of a judge. Subsequently, the Constitutional Council censored these provisions of the law extending the state of emergency. It considers them "depriving of liberty", reports Le Parisien.

According to the minister, this voluntary quarantine measure does not currently concern non-European foreigners, as the external borders of the EU, including France, have been closed to them since March 17.

Regarding intra-European borders, Jean-Yves Le Drian will explain that "there is no closure on our part; there are controls that are carried out in a concerted manner with the neighboring countries to avoid the spread of the virus. But these controls are becoming more and more flexible." Cross-border workers are affected by these controls.

"If by chance the pandemic does not resume, from June 15, there could be a general relaxation," the minister promised.