The border between France and Andorra reopens this Monday. Traders expect a large influx of French tourists. With significant discounts.
The Pas-de-la-Case traders are in the starting blocks. Closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus, they will be able to work again from this Monday thanks to the reopening of the border between Andorra and France. “We are happy to reopen, everyone is in a hurry, for two days everyone is in the process of setting up”, explains Jean-Jacques Carrié, the president of the association of traders.
All the shops will reopen, only a few restaurants will remain closed, for lack of being able to implement sanitary rules in time. Rules will have to be observed. A traffic direction has been set up, going up on one side of the street, going down on the other, with arrows on the ground, and at crossroads, a space of 1.50 m between two people must be respected. Snowmen were painted on the sidewalks. To facilitate traffic flows, traders will not be able to display equipment on the sidewalks. In each business, a maximum number of people will be allowed. Wearing a mask will be compulsory in shops and recommended on the street.
“We don’t want to do anything, we really cleaned up the situation with the virus here, everything is clean in Andorra”, explains Jean-Jacques Carrié. Andorra, which recorded 51 deaths from the Covid-19, has indeed twice tested the 77,000 inhabitants before authorizing deconfinement on April 29.
The Andorran government and the municipality of Encamp have planned to mobilize 41 police officers in Pas-de-la-Case at the border and in the village, traffic agents, Red Cross agents and additional personnel at the border Franco-Andorran. Customs can control up to ten cars simultaneously.
The sanitary rules are recalled on barriers in the street.
– Photo government Andorra
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Signs educate pedestrians about Covid-19
– Photo government Andorra
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1.50m between two people: this is the rule in Andorra.
– Photo government Andorra
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Additional discounts this Monday
Business will resume, there was an emergency for traders. In addition to the low prices practiced throughout the year, there will be significant discounts from this Monday. “We have a lot of equipment stored for three months so we will quickly display discounts of up to 50%,” explains the president of the Pas-de-la-Case merchants’ association, which has several textile shops, restaurants and a bar / restaurant on the slopes of Granvalira.
Pas-de-la-Case expects to experience a day on Monday equivalent to a busy day in summer. Encamp Consul General Laura Mas forecasts “around 6000 vehicles entering with an average of three people, which would represent around 18,000 tourists”, according to the Andorran daily Diari Andorra.
Remember that the travel limit of 100 km remains in effect this Monday until midnight.
Quantities not to be exceeded
French customs limit the quantities and values of products brought back from Andorra to France. Here are the main ones: 300 cigarettes, 400 g of roll-your-own tobacco, 5 liters of sparkling wine, 1.5 liters of drinks above 22 ° alcohol, 3 liters of drinks below 22 °, 75 ml of perfume, 37.5 cl of toilet water, 1 kg of butter, 4 kg of cheese, 5 kg of sugar, 1000 g of coffee, 200 g of tea.
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