…a friend returning from Wales (bereavement) in week before Xmas had four visits from Gendarmes checking on isolation!
First whilst she was on ferry, partner told them she hadn’t yet arrived!
Next day to check she was at home.
Next visit to see if she had had a test and was it negative…it was,
Fourth visit to ask same as third visit…and then they said they hadn’t been told of the the third visit!
Good to know the Gendarmes are doing their best to ensure that folk follow the rules…
Slightly over the top methinks.
I’m sure we’ll now hear from folk who have travelled and received no checks whatsoever… or who have avoided/escaped the restrictions… or somesuch tale.
But it has been made very, very clear…
If folk should be isolating, then they should be isolating… and they will be checked.
If they should be testing, then they should be testing… and they will be checked.
No surprise to anyone that the Gendarmes will be checking!
So, it seems fair enough to hear about them doing just that…
1 Like
Bet you never got lines at school then !!!
I was often told to report to the Headmistress… 
but this is now and we are talking covid… rules is rules…
I did the 7 day test after I was back from my emergency visit to the UK last February. It needed 90km round trip to the lab. As at that time that was the nearest PCR test and it had to be a PCR.
It was a lot of trouble and expensive as CPAM application was in progress. But gendarme or no gendarme it was something I had to do.
So it’s a bit galling to hear large numbers of people here faked health passes
Yes 2 of my frienxs were checked twice
You do wonder how big a problem the faked health passes situation is 
Just returned from UK on 1 Jan. So far no checks from police but we’re not even at 48 hours yet and we have to quarantine for 10 days. Planning on getting antigen test tomorrow afternoon in the hope of early release.
A cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on those travelling from the UK where the infection rates are now significantly lower than here in France.
Go figure…
I think the non-availability of testing kits has had a profound effect on the number of cases reported in the uk.
Yes there was a lot of reporting of that, so you’re certainly right.
Still, the explosion of cases in France since the 18 Dec when this stupid policy was introduced shows what a total waste of time it has been - ruining a lot of people’s Christmases for a sliver of political gain in the run-up to the elections…merci M. Macron.
1 Like
Would it have been even worse with the borders open?
2 Likes
Hyperbole much?
I’m sure we can find the odd person whose Christmas was truly ruined somehow by this but I’d hope most would have a sense of perspective and had a lovely, non ruined Christmas anyway…
1 Like
Well, for those who had no plans to travel to or from the UK then it’s certainly nothing more than a minor news story.
For those planning to see friends and family whom they haven’t spent time with for several years due to this whole Coronavirus caper then I suspect ‘ruined Christmas’ pretty much sums it up.
My feeling is that Christmas is about being together with loved ones, and for many of us it’s the only time when everyone can get time off work at the same moment to do this.
When travel is more or less unrestricted between France and its Omicron-saturated EU neighbours, I don’t see how imposing draconian restrictions on another neighbouring country can make a jot of difference.
4 Likes
“Several years”, Marty2. It’s not even been 2.
France didn’t impose restrictions on the UK as a neighbouring country. They imposed restrictions on “third countries” and the UK happens to be one.
2 Likes
Well, hadn’t seen my folks since August 2019…now we’re in Dec/Jan 2021/22…do the math.
“France didn’t impose restrictions on the UK as a neighbouring country. They imposed restrictions on “third countries” and the UK happens to be one.”
Wrong. But don’t take my word for it:
There is no requirement to prove a “compelling reason” to travel to a whole host of “third countries” from France. But don’t take my word for it:
I know of three separate returnees from the U.K. that have had the gendarmes on their door checking they were isolating and doing their tests as scheduled.
I know of two.
1 Like
We had the gendarmes knocking on our door following the day of our arrival back from the UK - pleasant and very polite.
1 Like