Eurotunnel: we’re not turning Britons away
C onnexion has contacted Eurotunnel following claims that Britons are being turned away from trains to France.
A Eurotunnel spokesperson Romain Dufour said: "We do not have any policy of turning anyone away, not British citizens nor UK registered cars. We are still taking bookings and the service is still operating."
His comments come after reports on social media of cases of Britons being turned away.
Eurotunnel later posted this message today, March 18, at 16:00 on their website: "Our passenger shuttle services continue to operate. Please check carefully before travelling to Folkestone, as you may be turned away by the French Authorities if you don’t have good reason to travel within France."
You can only travel if you are going home to a main residence; if you work in France; or if you are part of medical staff. People travelling for holidays or social visits are not allowed in the country.
French PM Édouard Philippe last night said that France would find it hard to accept British visitors unless the UK enacts mandatory confinement measures very soon.
On Tuesday morning EU leaders agreed a 30-day travel ban on foreigners (people with non-EU passports) travelling into the Schengen Zone.
Europeans and UK citizens returning home, medical and cross-border workers are exempted. Although the ban is a pan-EU decision, it is up to each member state to implement it in their own way.
"On the other hand, the border police seem to be applying in the strictest sense the rules announced yesterday morning, which apply to all EU citizens, on all borders. If some passengers have been refused access, this is not because of Eurotunnel but because of the state applying the rules," added Mr Dufour.
