en Crossing the border between France and its neighbours will be a little more complicated from 1 November. As laid down in European legislation, an EU member state may temporarily close its borders to its neighbours. reintroduce border controls in the event of serious threats to public order.
The new french minister of the interior Bruno Retailleau considers that there are in France high-level terrorist activities. It also points to a growing presence of criminal networks in illegal immigration and smuggling. The border control measures will last for six months, from 1 November to 1 April 2025.
They concern all air, sea and land movements between France and Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Checks must also be proportionate and limited to the minimum time necessary to ensure security. In particular, so as not to excessively hamper the movement of many European citizens from one country to another. All in all, seven European countries are already applying these measuresthe latest being Germany.
The police concentrate a large proportion of their operations on land crossings, particularly buses and lorries. These are the vehicles most likely to be carrying undesirable individuals. However, trains are also subject to checks, generally during journeys.
The turmoil that gripped the media at the time of the Germany to reintroduce border controlsis somewhat exaggerated. Many people were talking about the end of free movement between the Member States of the Schengen area.. Rest assured: you can still move from one country to another without major hindrance. The days of 70s-style borders seem (for the time being) to be long gone!
