PARIS, 31 December 2021, (TON): France said that it will suspend a new rule that prevents Britons from transiting through the country to reach homes elsewhere in the EU, a move that caught thousands of travellers off guard.

France's Interior Ministry said "during the year-end holidays border police will show "tolerance" for Britons returning to the European Union after trips.”

Many Britons take the Channel Tunnel from England to France, using Eurotunnel's Shuttle service, to drive from the UK to their homes in other EU countries.

For the holidays many returned to Britain to visit family and friends without knowing that France was planning the tougher rules on non-residents.

Eurotunnel said in a tweet "unless they hold French residency, British citizens are now considered third country citizens and can no longer transit France by road to reach their country of residence in the EU.”

The change had caused dismay among Britons who embarked on holiday trips "in good faith," the French Interior Ministry said, acknowledging the "difficulties in returning to their country of residence."

P&O Ferries issued a similar tweet warning that “only those with French residency will be permitted to enter France.”

A French interior ministry official said it had not changed its list of “compelling” reasons enabling Britons to travel to France, but had clarified their application this month by border police.