France has announced people entering the country from the EU, the Schengen area or Britain due will not need to enter quarantine for the coronavirus,
Sunday's announcement came after the government said on Saturday it would extend the state of emergency to contain the crisis until at least 24 July, and anyone entering France would have to remain in isolation for two weeks.
But the quarantine rules would not apply to "anyone arriving from the European Union, the Schengen zone or Britain, regardless of their nationality", the presidency said on Sunday.
And for French and EU citizens arriving in France from other regions outside the EU, the Schengen area and Britain, "the rules will be announced in the coming days", the presidency said.
French Minister for Solidarity and Health Olivier Veran gives a press conference updating the nation on their response to the COVID-19 outbreak Source: AFP
Nevertheless, the tougher border controls introduced by France in mid-March to limit coronavirus contagion, particularly at the border with Germany, will continue, the interior ministry told AFP.
"The travel restrictions currently in place at our borders will continue to apply," the ministry said. "Nothing has changed."
The number of new deaths from COVID-19 in France has been declining in recent days, with 135 fatalities reported over the past 24 hours on Sunday.
The national health service said the increase brought France's total death toll to 24,895, the world's fifth highest figure after the United States, Italy, Britain and Spain.
The last time the number of daily reported deaths was below 135 was on 22 March, when it represented only those reported by hospitals.
The current figure also includes deaths reported by elderly care homes and other medicalised care facilities.
'Learning to live with the virus'
France plans to start lifting the coronavirus lockdown from 11 May, when children are to return to school in stages, some businesses will reopen and people will be able to travel within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of their homes without a signed justification for their movement.
But Health Minister Olivier Veran warned Sunday that this would depend on further declines in COVID-19 infections, especially in hard-hit areas like the Paris region and northeast France.
The government has said the number of new coronavirus cases must stabilise at fewer than 3,000 per day as it expands testing, otherwise, doctors and nurses could face another wave of patients that have tested hospitals since March.
"If the number of new cases proves too high, we'll have to reconsider the date for lifting the lockdown, and decide according to the situation in each department," Veran told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
He also cautioned against planning summer holidays for now, saying "it's unlikely that this virus is going to go on vacation".
Infected people already in France will, however, not be forced to accept isolation and treatment, as "we trust French people's sense of responsibility", Mr Veran said.
A couple wearing protectives face masks pass by a building where a woman holds a French flags. Source: EPA
Once approved by lawmakers, the emergency period will last until July 24, Mr Veran said.
The government has announced the gradual lifting of some lockdown measures from May 11, including the re-opening of primary schools.
Mr Veran said, however, that to lift the health emergency, which began on March 24, at the same time would be premature and carry the risk of a resurgence of the outbreak.
"We are going to have to perform a long-distance run," Mr Veran said, adding he was aware that the French people had already been asked for "colossal efforts" in the fight against the virus.
"We are going to have to live with the virus for a while," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said after a cabinet meeting decided on the extension.
"Learning to live with the virus, that's what's at stake in the coming months."
The new proposals also cover an "information system" for those have the virus and their entourage that would operate for up to a year.
The bill will go before the Senate on Monday and the National Assembly most probably the day after, said government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye. It is expected to become law by the end of the week.
On May 11, people in France will be allowed to leave their homes without the current obligation to carry a written justification for the movements.
They will have to wear protection masks when using public transport.
Many shops will also reopen and remote-working staff will be able to return to offices as France battles the economic impact of the coronavirus that has already pushed the country into recession.
In the latest example of the financial costs involved, the chairman of the national rail operator SNCF said Saturday that his company had already lost two billion euros ($2.2 billion) during the crisis, and would probably apply for state aid and cut staff numbers.
Meanwhile, the number of daily deaths in France from the coronavirus fell to 166, the health ministry said Saturday, the lowest number in more than five weeks.
This takes the total number of reported COVID-19 deaths in France since March 1 to 24,760, the fourth-highest in Europe.
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