Residents of France were told to plan their summer holidays getaways closer to home, and forget about going abroad this summer season.

French President Emmanuel Macron today announced that international travel will be ‘restricted’ over the summer, adding that French citizens will have to modify their summer plans accordingly.

According to Macron, “normal life” cannot resume until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.

“It is too soon to say whether we can take holidays. What I can say is that we will limit major international travel, even during the summer holidays. We will stay among Europeans and, depending on how the epidemic evolves, we might have to reduce that a little more. We will know [by] early June,” Macron said.

He added that he wanted families to be happy and enjoy the summer weather, even though the battle against COVID-19 has not yet been won.

New severe travel restrictions come some three weeks after Macron warned that the external borders of the Schengen Area may remain shut until September.

France is beginning to slowly ease its coronavirus lockdown, which has been one of the strictest in Europe. Measures are set to begin lifting on May 11, when people will be allowed to move up to 60 miles from their residence. Schools will also start operating, but only 10 percent of children will be accommodated in Parisian schools.

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