Letter from Magras to reopen

andynap

Senior Insider
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if the island is allowed by France to drop the quarantine and a tourist refuses the test for entry ( the tourist may be within their rights to refuse the test ) wonder if the government here has a plan B? It is doubtful that France will allow the borders to open without either a test or a quarantine. I am sure we will know what the decision is from France within the next two weeks.

thanks for posting Andy, I saw this on facebook this morning.
 
From Ellen's post copied and translated from Le Journal:


Can we force a French or foreign tourist to undergo a test upon entering the territory?
No, we cannot force people to get tested. We can recommend it to them. In case of refusal they are logically bound to the famous fortnight.


What do we do with the arrivals while they wait for the results?
They must confine themselves to their homes while waiting.
It was to avoid this constraint that during the videoconference, I proposed to the President of the Republic the idea of ​​asking visitors, a test 48 hours before arrival and to make a second one on arrival. It was refused. We have proposed to the State, a new protocol aiming to practice a double test a few days apart. Between the two, arrivals are of course supposed to remain confined for a few days while waiting for the final result which exempts them from the fortnight. For the moment we have no feedback from the State on our proposal.

If a passenger on an airplane is positive on arrival, what do we do with them, and what do we do with the people who traveled with them?
If a passenger tests positive on arrival, he must be confined to his villa or hotel or to the accommodation center that we made available to the ARS from the start of the epidemic.
That said, the Collectivity is not intended to interfere in medical practices. The tests and the follow-up are the responsibility of healthcare professionals.


All this is therefore not yet clearly defined with the State; nevertheless the Prime Minister announces metropolitan / overseas vacations from July 1; and perhaps Saint-Barth hopes to open its borders before this date?
I confirm it to you. All this is not yet clear on the state side. Nevertheless I do not think that French or Europeans can go to Guadeloupe on vacation and could not come to Saint-Barth. Besides, I understand that all Europeans in the Schengen area can already go to France.


 
These Google translations are horrible and miss some points from the French version of the letter (not to mention the aggressive blue "copy & paste" from a smartphone which is rather unpleasant to read on a larger computer screen).

French version: https://www.journaldesaintbarth.com...a-la-ministre-des-outre-mer-202006031457.html


The letter from Mr. Bruno Magras is excellent. I think it was a very good idea to shoot straight to the top! Writing to the Ministre des Outre-Mer was the best move, as, clearly the local Préfets are not acting quickly enough to reopen the borders. It also shows the position of the elected officials regarding the reopening of the borders, and the urgency to save the local economy.

The problem is: most likely the French Government will want to reopen the borders of all French Caribbean islands at the same time, with no special treatment for one specific island. The islands have strong ties with large movements of people between them. It would make little sense to have different entry rules for each island (and rather complicated to implement), especially considering the airports of entry. Guadeloupe has approximately 395,000 residents, Martinique 375,000 residents, St Martin (French side) 35,000 residents and St. Barth 10,000 residents. Even if St. Barth is ready for the reopening, unfortunately, its population only accounts for 1,2 % in the whole French Caribbean. Not sure if Macron's administration will want to grant special privileges to such a small representation of the population. But who knows?

What is for sure though, is that the current system is totally disproportionate compared to the mainland. Borders closed to visitors, mandatory quarantine and tests for all new arrivals (including residents returning home), complicated administrative forms (which change every week), etc.... It really is discriminatory. Many local students in France (and Canada) currently have major issues in returning home. And not only them. More than ever, being on an island means being isolated and unreachable.

Hopefully, the letter will have some impact and kick the French authorities in the bud a little (we've got to admit, Mr. Bruno Magras is very good at this).
 
I had to read the letter in French as well to really grasp the tone. Very interesting and quite forceful but I was surprised by the pleading tone as well.
 
Monsieur Magras is clearly more concerned about the economic impact, in this fin de saison, of zéro international tourists than some posters here.
Nouveau mot pour moi: quémander
 
I had to read the letter in French as well to really grasp the tone. Very interesting and quite forceful but I was surprised by the pleading tone as well.

It is doubtful that this letter will be well received by the gov of France.

If France were to give into the demands that are of a threatening nature ( withholding monies for a period of time if the request is denied ) then other islands may follow suit if the demand for the early border opening works for St. Barths.

France would have to consider this might happen if they decide to approve this request.


Its always better to request without strings attached if you wish a more favorable response in my opinion.

I guess we will know the answer soon.
 
Clearly, if you want tourists (outside a handful of them) either in SBH or anywhere else, It is not compatible with quarantine and swab tests. For instance in Thailand until June 30th, the country is closed to any foreigner. From July 1st ( summer season), it is open bar, everybody is allowed to enter with no restriction or test at all. Same in Italy.
 
Clearly, if you want tourists (outside a handful of them) either in SBH or anywhere else, It is not compatible with quarantine and swab tests. For instance in Thailand until June 30th, the country is closed to any foreigner. From July 1st ( summer season), it is open bar, everybody is allowed to enter with no restriction or test at all. Same in Italy.

I agree with DaddyleCool, no half measures.

it makes no sense to open a border with restrictions of any kind
 
I noticed on the french thread, that has been reserved for francophones, someone was chastised for writing something in english.

speaking of the "someone", he's noticeably absent recently. sent by the mods to sit in the corner on the stool ?
 
speaking of the "someone", he's noticeably absent recently. sent by the mods to sit in the corner on the stool ?
My concern was more that he is not well or that something serious happened. Hopefully, just sick and tired of being attacked constantly by a few on here.
 
Quemander reminds me of the olden days for some reason. it does infer insistance mais je ne savais pas ce cote d'humilite.... now I am confused de quel cote je dois me mettre.....
 
interesting Bruno Magras asked for a quid pro quo...if we can't open now, then please exonerate us from the large tax bill the government sends the island every year, I think to the tune of 2.5 million euros per year for 5 years (if I read the letter correctly in French!). that would make up some of the lost revenue...
 
There is nobody on timeout.

The absence of visible activity is not the same as the absence of activity.
 
interesting Bruno Magras asked for a quid pro quo...if we can't open now, then please exonerate us from the large tax bill the government sends the island every year, I think to the tune of 2.5 million euros per year for 5 years (if I read the letter correctly in French!). that would make up some of the lost revenue...

France is not punishing the island by waiting till later to let the borders open, simply choosing health over economics which may or may not be the wise decision, who knows.

Its a worldwide pandemic as we all know.

St. Barths has lost a lot of revenue during this time, but I am sure mainland France has lost a lot of revenue, as have other countries.

Perhaps France will help st. barths with the lost revenue, but France is not obligated to do so because of this pandemic crisis that the whole world is in.

If France exonerates us from the large tax bills, would France not be obligated to do this for the other territories?

we should know the decision soon.
 
Perhaps France will help st. barths with the lost revenue, but France is not obligated to do so because of this pandemic crisis that the whole world is in.

OK, handbreak.

France is already helping St. Barth with the lost revenue. During the lockdown (2 months), 4400 island workers salaries have been paid by the French Government, not by the local employers. The total amount of that bill (paid by French tax payers) is 21 millions euros (Journal de St Barth # 1377 May 27, 2020). That's the equivalent of 7 years of the DGC (Dotation globale de compensation de charges) paid by St Barth to France and referred to by Mr. Bruno Magras.

Quote: "If France were to give into the demands that are of a threatening nature ( withholding monies for a period of time if the request is denied ) then other islands may follow suit if the demand for the early border opening works for St. Barths."

What has been called a "threat" made by Mr. Bruno Magras is, in fact, nothing else than negotiation material. Unfortunately the DGC is worth peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

French tax payers (obviously not residents of St Barth) are already paying for the economic disaster in SBH, and elsewhere. It is a national effort to save the economy.
 
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