Anyone risking heading to France in the near future?

[MajorClanger123]

Just that really.... we are booked to sail this Sunday.

Before anyone vilifies me for even considering going away during a pandemic, we are visiting my inlaws who live in a very low risk region of France. We havent seem them since Christmas, they are both late 70s and my husband feels we should go over and check up on them / spend a week with them. We've had the ferry booked since January, but I guess can shift it (to when, I don't know!) / suck it up and take the monetary hit.

What is everyone elses thoughts re: France being added to the list? I've read way too much in the media / am feeling too emotional about it to make a decent judgement today....

Sorry - Delatron to question you - but what are you scared of?

No one's going to come round and check on you. There'll be thousands coming back and being quarantined.

I'm all for being safe and staying in but you can take your dog out at 6am can't you? Seriously - whose going to find out about that?

@eurochick yes very good point. I've only ever considered this matter from a 'I really can't face quarantining' issue. Not whether anyone is going to actually catch this blinking virus!

My inlaws have been quite active over there - shopping / meals out / lunch with friends. They have said that lots of french friends are back to the old ways of face kissing as a greeting and they've had to block close friends from doing that to them as they just don't feel comfortable with that level of interaction. Its no surprise cases are on the rise!

I’m in exactly the same situation and so frustrated as we actually rescheduled the trip - which cost us money - and now we will lose more money plus the holiday. I really want to go but can’t face quarantine especially as we are planning to see other family on our return who we haven’t seen since before lockdown. Like you, we are going to a private property in a rural bit of France and won’t mix with anyone or go anywhere busy - but I think we will have to give it up. It’s the uncertainty that bites so much. I wish we knew for sure one way or another!

@pontypridd that was sort of my DH's thoughts on the matter... until my friend told us about the police ringing her. Plus the £1k fine if caught out walking the dog!

Oh - I see MajorClanger.

What if you don't rent? What if you live in a place that's bursting at the seams with people and crime ...

I can see it would look good to have a news story and make an example of one person - but then again you've got the Cummings story to compare it against ...

I just don't see what people are scared of.

Oh I agree @pontypridd. Nobody will come round and check at that time and what harm is it doing? The dog will suffer more from not being walked. It is all a bit ridiculous.

I think we know the virus doesn’t spread outside when nobody else is around!

@CaptainBrickbeard i'm sorry, its such a crappy situation to be in. It takes the shine off the whole holiday - plus I imagine if we do go, and then gvmt announce quarantine plans whilst we're there, i'll be like a bear with a sore head for the rest of the holiday and the 2 week quarantine!

I really don't think that quarantine is at all enforceable.

If you put this into perspective. We're all just as likely to catch Covid in this country at the moment. And the government is packing our kids like cattle back into school in a few weeks.

They don't have a leg to stand on with this surely.

I don’t think the police have the time and man power to be following people walking their dog early in the morning.

There may be some spot checks going on. Phone calls? But it depends on the local police force then.

I guess the government are relying on the fact that people are scared they will be checked up on and therefore don’t leave the house.

@MajorClanger123 , your EHIC is still valid.

I live in rural France but ventured to the coast on Monday. It was extremely busy and masks were compulsory outside as well as in. Not great in this weather!

I've got friends coming next weekend, one is coming regardless and will quarantine if necessary, the other will probably have to cancel. They live in an equally rural area.

We have cancelled our holiday in France and booked in UK instead.

In terms of behaviour under quarantine, I suppose it is easy for each person to do one or two things that they're not supposed to, and then it creeps up to more, and then to think that eight days is enough...

If everyone does that, the risks for the people that have stayed in the UK the whole time have increased. If people want to go, go. But do the full, proper quarantine when you get back. No cheating.

RedToothBrush on another thread said that quarantine is a deterrent and that is all.

It cannot be enforced and won't be. They've got far more to worry about.

I think OP - you should go away and enjoy the holiday. Come back and do two weeks as much as home as possible. But don't worry too much or give your self a breakdown about it.

Getting stuck in French lockdown which has always been more restrictive than U.K. lockdown in a place that’s not ours does not fill me with joy...

France has made a public statement that they will aim to avoid the second national lockdown at all costs. Also, the current level of cases in France is very far from the second wave. Even 2,000 positive tests a day would still be very low.

Most people going on holidays to France will probably have a great time out there (we certainly did - it was normal with a few sensible restrictions, not the "new normal" paranoia). The only real concern is the risk of a quarantine on the way back.

@pontypridd I do agree with you - but we own a local business and employ 17 members of staff. Some of them (before testing was allowed for key workers - we're food production) had to self isolate due to symptoms for the full 14 days on only SSP. We were incredibly strict that they couldn't come back even after day 10 when clearly their child's sore throat was absolutely nothing. I think we owe it to them to be strict with ourselves - yes we could and would walk our dog and maybe have my parents or friends round for a cuppa. But we couldnt go and stay with friends for a long weekend as planned, or walk round town where people know us.

You have to give your quarantining address on the paperwork - if you don't complete the paperwork its £100 fine (per person?) which I guess they tally up to the passport scanning that happens when you go through customs. Then if you're caught out its £1k (per person?).

Hell no I wouldn’t go.

I’m in a similar position with not seeing my parents. It’s awful.

But no. I really, really wouldn’t.

Of course you wouldn't go if you hadn't booked.

But if you had and were going to lose your money and holiday ... seriously why not?

Why wouldn't you - Paddy?

We actually have lost money on a trip.

A few reasons:

1. I don’t want to be hit with a quarantine
2. My trip over to see my parents would make them anxious about me bringing the virus with them. I suspect this anxiety would outdo the good of my trip
3. I don’t want to make them sick (small possibility, but nonetheless)
4. I don’t want to be “part of the problem”. We are vectors of this virus. The more of us that travel, the more we are helping the virus

...until my friend told us about the police ringing her.

Actually, it is normally Public Health of England rather than the Police.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/08/no-10-dampens-idea-of-uk-air-bridges-to-allow-summer-holidays-in-eu

My friends had to quarantine on their return from the US and they did get a call from PHE. The truth of the matter is they could have been anywhere when they picked up the phone but they were following the rules (since they relocated from Florida and were very mindful of risks to others).

The police probably only gets involved if people do something completely ridiculous (e.g. go to a bar and publish photos on social media).

Fair enough Paddy -

We've also booked to go away and we're not going to be seeing anyone at all. We've planned to fish, swim, cycle etc remotely. We're traveling and living far more remotely and without going near people than we are here at home.

Here in England we're on the tube, in London at the leisure centre, seeing friends. That's only part of it. It will be far safer us being on holiday. For ourselves and others.

So we'll be less of a problem and as a result I will not feel that we need to quarantine.

We're due to go in a fortnight, and I'm actually at the point where I'm hoping the government would just impose the quarantine now. I have two dcs, and they are desperate to get back to school. No way can I risk them having to stay at home for two weeks.

But, if I cancel now I lose money.

Whole situation is rubbish. I haven't had a break since January (key worker, worked right through the whole thing) and too expensive to book somewhere in the UK, so I'm not too happy.

@wintertravel1980 maybe somebody had reported them to the police for breaking quarantine rules? Not sure....

@DonaldTrumpsChopper I feel for you - we're similar. DH is a key worker, we all need a change of scene. If we go and have to quarantine, we will finish quarantine just in time for school to return. I see people are now tweeting grant shapps to get a move on and make his mind up on France sooner rather than later as so many holidays with kids due to return to school are affected by it.....
Yes we should probably all not travel, but like you say - when you've paid for it, its a lot of money to lose down the drain

DonaldTrump -

I'm worried about schools going back. Far more than this whole quarantine business. Having an excuse to miss the chaos of schools reopening would be another reason for us to go away.

But both my kids are ambivalent about school.

We aren't due to go until 21st (at the time, the day after physically going in to school to pick up GCSE results.............) and back late on 30th. I'm hoping that we'll know one way or the other (in quarantine or numbers going back down) before we go. If we have to quarantine but it wasn't against FCO advice, I'm pretty sure we'd still go but it would mean that the children couldn't start back at school on time. Not great at all but I suspect they wouldn't be the only ones? The eldest wouldn't want to risk it so would stay with my parents.

We're also going somewhere currently with low numbers but I know that if France goes on the list it will be the whole country not just some regions.

Am thinking of booking a return Eurotunnel for the middle of the trip just in case......

I hope they give more warning than they did for Spain. There was no chance of anyone getting back.

I think they need to make a call on France very soon. The quarantine will start to go in to term time soon and people need to make the call on whether to cancel or now.