Hundreds of thousands of British tourists in France face a race to get home before quarantine restrictions are imposed.
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People arriving in the UK after 4am on Saturday will be required to spend 14 days in self-isolation due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases in France.
The conditions will also apply to travellers returning to the UK from the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba.
The move, which applies throughout the UK, comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to be "absolutely ruthless" in decisions about imposing quarantine restrictions on countries.
The Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England detected a significant change in COVID-19 risk in all six destinations.
Department for Transport officials said data from France showed that in the past week there had been a 66 per cent increase in newly reported cases and a 52 per cent increase in weekly incidence rate per 100,000 population, indicating a sharp rise in COVID-19.
The move will come as a bitter blow to the hard-pressed French tourism industry, which relies heavily on visitors from the UK.
France's secretary of state for European affairs said the UK decision would lead to "reciprocal measures" across the Channel.
Clement Beaune tweeted: "A British decision which we regret and which will lead to reciprocal measures, all in hoping for a return for normal as soon as possible."
Australian Associated Press