France has been struck from the Government’s quarantine free travel list, amid rising concern over new cases in the country.
Up to 400,000 Britons are currently on holiday in France and now face a last-minute dash to return home before the restrictions come into force on Sunday at 4am.
Britain’s second favourite holiday destination was removed from the UK’s “travel corridor” list on Thursday night as new coronavirus cases hit a post-lockdown daily high with the French health ministry reporting 2,699 infections in 24 hours.
On Thursday morning, it was thought France had done “enough” to retain its status, with Government sources indicating that new restrictions would not be imposed.
Mr Johnson earlier said the Government would be “absolutely ruthless” about imposing the measures, even with “our closest and dearest partners”.
Speaking during a visit to Northern Ireland, he said: “We can’t be remotely complacent about our own situation. Everybody understands that in a pandemic you don’t allow our population to be reinfected or the disease to come back in.
“That is why the quarantine measures are very important, and we have to apply them in a very strict way.”
Meanwhile, the Netherlands and Malta are set to be removed from the “travel corridor” list, Government sources confirmed on Thursday. The Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba are also expected to lose their places.