Schengen controls to remain in place
Interior Ministry says checks along France’s Schengen borders will remain as long as the terror threat continues
FRANCE will continue controls along its Schengen borders for as long as the terror threat continues, the Interior Ministry has said.
The controls were brought in following the terror attacks in Paris which left 130 people dead.
Two of the attackers made their way into the country having entered Europe among a group of migrants who arrived in Greece.
France stepped up controls along its border initially citing the COP21 climate change summit in Paris.
However, in spite of the summit ending last weekend, guards are still inspecting vehicles coming in and out of the country.
Travellers leaving the country over Christmas are reminded to take their passports with them, even when heading to Schengen countries such as Spain and Germany, as they must when they travel to the UK and Ireland.
While you may not need them to leave the country, you could be asked to present them to return.
Some 15,000 police, gendarmes and customs officers have been patrolling 283 points of entry into France, by sea, air and land in recent weeks.
The EU’s Schengen agreement, which enables free movement within the Union, does allow for temporary restoration of border controls, something which France has already done in 1995, 2001 and 2013.
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