London
Passengers supplied with negative virus tests on Wednesday boarded the first Eurostar trains from London to France since border closures, eager to spend Christmas with their families.
Shortly before the departure of the first train to Paris from St Pancras Station at 0906 GMT, the terminal remained noticeably quieter than would normally be expected two days before Christmas.
Only a few passengers gathered around the station’s ticket offices for boarding, dragging their suitcases and brandishing their all-important negative test results.
“I had already taken a ticket on Monday, finally they postponed it to today, I hope to be able to leave,” Francesco, a 28-year-old student, told AFP. “Family vacations are important.”
A Eurostar spokesman said that only 60 of the 900 seats available on the first train had been taken.
French authorities relaxed the travel restrictions on Tuesday evening, 48 hours after banning arrivals from the UK to curb the spread of a new coronavirus strain discovered in the country.
Under the new rules set to be reviewed on December 31, French citizens as well as foreigners residing in France or in the European Union, and those making essential journeys, can now cross the border again. To do so, they must provide a negative Covid test that is less than 72 hours old.—AFP
