News Digest: France’s New Border Controls, Flight Updates & Americans in France

In an attempt to clamp down on illegal immigration and increase security regarding terrorist threats, France announced this week that it will be following Germany’s lead and reinstating border checks within the Schengen area. The checks will mostly concern road borders between France and neighbouring Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Germany but will also apply to those travelling by land, sea, and air. The new border checks are set to be introduced on Nov 1 and will initially be put in place for a period of six months, although this could be extended.

This is the first time that France has imposed widespread checks on its borders since the creation of the Schengen Zone, although temporary checks were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic and in the wake of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

So, what actually changes for travellers? We break it all down here: EU Border Controls in France: What Changes in November 2024?

Ryanair has been in the headlines recently over its disputes with Bordeaux Airport regarding fees. Unfortunately for travellers and second-home owners who use the budget airline to travel to the southwest of France, the result is that Ryanair will no longer be flying to Bordeaux, effective from Oct 27. This leaves a notable gap in flights between Bordeaux and the UK, for which the airport has pledged to find replacements – watch this space.

The second update regarding low-cost airlines in France brings some better news for Brits – Easyjet has announced 27 new international routes from various French airports. These include flights between Paris CDG, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, and Strasbourg, and a host of destinations including EU cities, Egypt, and Morocco. Most importantly for our readers, they include four new flight routes from the UK to France: Leeds and Newcastle to Paris CDG (from Oct 27 and 28, respectively), London Gatwick to Strasbourg (from Nov 11), and Newcastle to Lyon (from Jan 4).

Yesterday (Monday, Oct 21) marked the start of the Toussaint school holidays, in which all three school zones take the same two-week break, including Halloween and the Toussaint bank holiday. Schools will reopen on Monday, November 4th.

Our final FrenchEntrée webinar of the year is going to be especially for our American audience (Canadians – a lot of it will probably be relevant for you, too!), so make sure you don’t miss out and sign up today.

Our guest host, Iva Slavtcheva, will be joined by an excellent panel of hosts, including Miranda from Paris Property Group, Thomas from Société de Courtage, Eleonore from Lexidy, and Kelly from Moneycorp to cover everything you need to know about moving to France as an American in 2025. Real estate and the property purchase process, French mortgages, visas and immigration to France, and currency exchange and maximizing your budget – we’ll be covering it ALL!

If you have a question for any of our panellists, you can also send it to us in advance at [email protected]

Moving to France as an American in 2025:Your Essential Guide

Thursday 7th November
6pm ET.

This Sunday, Oct 27 at 3am, the clocks will go back one hour in France and other countries that participate in daylight saving. The good news is that you’ll get an hour of extra sleep! The not-so-good news – you’ll need to double-check all your meetings for the next week to make sure the times are correct!