New health control measures on the border between the Principality of Monaco and France but, according to the government of the small state of the southern transalpine, are insufficient.
The French authorities, in fact, have announced that they have decided ‘by way of derogation from the current regulations on international travel, and as long as the health situation allows it, that people residing in Monaco are exempted from the obligation to present a PCR examination when entering the territory. French for journeys of less than 24 hours within the limits of the Alpes-Maritimes department.
According to the government of the Principality, the 24-hour period is considered insufficient “Because it does not meet the concrete needs of Monegasque residents who, as a period of school holidays approaches, find themselves hindered in their movements in the neighboring region. A decision – he continues – is in contradiction with the Franco-Monegasque convention which guarantees the free movement of citizens of the two countries on both sides of the border. It also penalizes the 9,000 French citizens residing in the Principality who have only limited access to their country of origin. Finally, this measure is equivalent to not considering the geographical isolation of the Principality in French territory while during the previous travel limitation measures adopted by the French authorities last spring (travel limited to 100 km), this reality had been taken into account by considering in fact that the residents of the Principality have been assimilated to the residents of the Maritime Alps ”.
The Monegasque authorities will therefore continue the dialogue with France to lift the 24-hour limit and, in the meantime, announce that they will apply the strict reciprocity of the French provisions. Specifically, anyone coming from France to Monaco must present a negative swab, less than 72 hours and a certificate of non-contagiousness. Commuters, schoolchildren and students as well as residents of the Maritime Alps who travel to the Principality for less than 24 hours are exempt from this provision.
Anyone who goes to a hotel in the Principality, regardless of origin and length of stay, must present a negative test, always less than 72 hours, as well as a certificate of non-contagiousness. The measures will take effect next Monday. Controls at the Principality’s borders will be strengthened.
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R.G.
