If you ask me, I would say France is one of the safest and easiest place for your destination wedding!
We speak to a lot of couples getting in touch with us to discuss their French destination wedding plans and vision, and one subject that often comes up is how to reassure their guests that France is a safe destination in these times.
I have travelled quite a bit in the past months and I feel that France is one of the most Covid safe and travel friendly countries I have been in. And I will tell you why.
First, testing is super easy.
In high touristic season as was summer 2020, anyone could get tested, either for free or at a very reasonable cost (about 25 Euros) in any pharmacy, almost anywhere. And let me tell you the French love a pharmacy! We buy lots of our hygiene products (sun screens, personal hygiene, baby products, beauty products,…) in pharmacies. So you would always find a pharmacy nearby, and it would offer testing. Amazing.
Since last summer, pharmacies do not offer PCR testing anymore (but would still have the lateral flow tests), and the job has been taken over by labs. But again, there are many labs in France. People go to the lab directly for any test they need doing (in the UK for example you would go to the hospital for a blood test, but in France you would go to your local lab). So it is a bit less, but there are still lots of options to get tested, still at a very reasonable price.
Easy testing means it is easy for the local population to get tested and therefore you can feel safe that anyone who has a suspicion of covid can get tested quickly and isolate as required, it also means that it is easy for your guests to test before travelling as required. Bookings can be made online, and voila!
Second, France has never let go of its mask wearing policy.
People in France will be wearing their masks in any closed area, wether it is a shop, a supermarket, in public transport and so on. Whenever in a closed space, the French will be wearing their mask to avoid any virus spread. Sanitising gel is also displayed in most places: shops, public transport, hotels,…
And third, metropolitan France massively supports vaccination.
Vaccination rate for over 17 year olds is just short of 90%. With the booster being rolled out, metropolitan France is among the most vaccinated countries in the world.
If you would like to get some advice on how to communicate all the necessary and useful information to your guests about travelling to France and testing, please do not hesitate to message us on our IG profile @etvoilaweddings (and take this opportunity to follow us ;)), we will be delighted to help!
