French side border controls remain in place
PHILIPSBURG – It is currently unclear how long the French side of the island will keep its border controls in place but one thing is certain: according to a report in FaxInfo, children living on the Dutch side are not welcome in schools on the French side. Rumor has it that the border controls could remain in place for at least a year.
Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs lifted the border controls from the Dutch side per Sunday, May 17. Containers blocking the border crossing in Oyster Pond were removed, but it did not take French authorities long before they replaced them with their own containers.
Jacobs said in May that her government is doing “the utmost to synchronize measures with our northern counterparts to protect the population from the spread of the corona-virus.”
“We see no need for this any longer,” she said at the time about the border controls.
But on the day the Dutch side ended its border controls, Préfète Déléguée Sylvie Feucher called for caution and for the “utmost vigilance.”
Entering the French side of the island requires to this day a certificate that justifies the border crossing – be it for compelling professional reasons, for health reasons, or for family-related matters.
Those who want to cross the border into French territory have to present a sworn statement and present documents to justify their travel plans. They have to give their name, date and place of birth, profession, passport number, and contact information.
Those who want to go to the French side for family-related reasons have to present proof of family ties with relatives or a death announcement; those who live on the French side and want to return home have to present proof of their address, not older than three months; travelers for health reasons have to present a medical certificate or proof of a doctor’s appointment; those who travel for urgent professional reasons have to provide a declaration from their employer.
All travelers have to declare whether they have visited territories other than Guadeloupe, Martinique or St. Barth during the past 14 days; if they have been in other places they have to commit to a 14-day home-confinement.
Access to the French side can be denied to travelers that have no valid reason and to those who present false information. Those who do get access have to declare that they will stick to social distancing and to wearing facemasks during travel. They also have to agree to two screenings: one within 24 hours of arrival, the second one on day 8 after arrival and they have to make appointments with the Biopôle laboratory immediately.
Photo caption: French border police (PAF) monitoring the frontier at Bellevue. Photo taken from FaxInfo.
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Related articles:
Exposé report: Reasons for the continued French side border controls after May 17
French authorities confirmed closing border control posts
Editorial: Why does the French continue monitoring the borders?
Council of Ministers Agree To Cease Border Controls For St. Maarten
Reopening of schools / The prefect persists and signs: the children who live in the Dutch part will not be schooled in Saint-Martin!
On the French side, we execute orders and we still do not cross the border of Oyster Pond!
