Indian Ocean island blamed for French cases

FAMILIES returning from holidays in France are being forced to self-isolate because of Covid cases identified on an island 6,000 miles from Paris, Dominic Raab has said.

The Foreign Secretary revealed yesterday that the decision to put France on the amber-plus list was “based on the prevalence of the so-called beta variant, in particular in the Réunion bit of France”. The French island lies in the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar.

Quizzed about why its travel restrictions should also apply to mainland France, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4: “It’s not the distance that matters, it’s the ease of travel between different component parts of any individual country.”

A Brittany Ferries spokesman branded the policy “madness”, adding: “It would be like France hammering British holidaymakers due to a Covid outbreak on the Falkland Islands.”

The French government also heaped criticism on Britain’s decision to single it out as the only European country for which a 10-day quarantine will be required for fully vaccinated travellers.

“It’s excessive, and it’s frankly incomprehensible on health grounds … It’s not based on science, and discriminatory towards the French,” Clément Beaune, France’s Europe minister, said.

France is expected to be moved off amber-plus on to an amber watch list when ministers review the lists next week. Mr Raab insisted the Government “want to get France up the traffic light system as soon as possible”.