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Map of permanent border crossing points in France |
The following is a list of border crossing points in France (French: points de passages frontaliers, or "PPF") forming the external border of the Schengen Area. By contrast, the term points de passages autorisés ("PPA") refers to the crossing points at the border between France and other Schengen countries (i.e. internal borders of the Schengen Area).
At the main border crossing points that receive traffic from outside the Schengen Area, the Police aux Frontières carries out immigration checks, whilst Customs are responsible for customs checks. At smaller regional border crossing points that receive limited traffic from outside the Schengen Area, Customs are responsible for carrying out both immigration and customs checks. [1] [2]
PARAFE self-service gates have been installed at a number of border crossing points to facilitate passage for eligible travellers (European Economic Area, Andorran, Monegasque, San Marinese and Swiss biometric passport holders aged 18 or over).
Border crossing point | French agency responsible for checks | Nature of presence | Flights to/from outside the Schengen Area | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Immigration | Customs | |||
Abbeville – Buigny-Saint-Maclou Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Agen – La Garenne Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Seasonal scheduled flights (London Gatwick) |
Albert – Picardie Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Amiens – Glisy Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Angers – Loire Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (London City) |
Angoulême – Brie – Champniers Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Annecy – Haute-Savoie – Mont Blanc Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Annemasse Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Auxerre – Branches Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Avignon – Caumont Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Birmingham, Exeter, London City, Southampton) |
Bastia – Poretta Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester) |
Beauvais–Tillé Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Regular scheduled flights (Bacău, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Chişinău, Cluj-Napoca, Dublin, Edinburgh, Fez, Glasgow-Prestwick, Knock, Manchester, Marrakech, Nador, Pula, Sofia, Tangier, Târgu Mureş, Timişoara) |
Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Southampton) |
Besançon – La Vèze Aerodrome | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Bristol, London Luton, Manchester, Southampton) |
Biarritz – Anglet – Bayonne Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Dublin, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester) |
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Agadir, Algiers, Casablanca, London Gatwick, London Luton, Marrakech, Tunis), seasonal scheduled flights (Bristol, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Montréal-Trudeau, Oran, Southampton) |
Brest Bretagne Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Regular scheduled flights (London City, Marrakech) |
Brive–Souillac Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (London City) |
Caen – Carpiquet Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (London Southend) |
Calais–Dunkerque Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Infrequent charter flights |
Calvi – Sainte-Catherine Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal charter flights (London Stansted) |
Cannes – Mandelieu Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Infrequent charter flights |
Carcassonne Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Dublin, Liverpool, London Stansted) and seasonal scheduled flights (Bournemouth, Cork, East Midlands, Glasgow-Prestwick) |
Chalon – Champforgeuil Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Chambéry Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford, London City, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton) and seasonal charter flights (Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Moscow-Domodedovo) |
Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Cherbourg – Maupertus Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (Southampton) |
Colmar Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Deauville – Saint-Gatien Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (London City) and charter flights (Agadir, Marrakech) |
Dijon - Bourgogne Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Southampton) |
Dinard–Pleurtuit–Saint-Malo Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Regular scheduled flights (East Midlands, Guernsey, London Stansted) and seasonal charter flights (Leeds/Bradford) |
Épinal – Mirecourt Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Figari–Sud Corse Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (London Gatwick, Manchester) |
Grenoble-Isère Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Guernsey, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester) and seasonal charter flights (Kyiv-Boryspil, Moscow-Vnukovo, Southampton, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion) |
La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport | Customs | Customs | On request outside peak season | Seasonal scheduled flights (Birmingham, Bristol, Cork, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester) |
Lannion – Côte de Granit Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Le Havre – Octeville Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Lille Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Algiers, Oran, Tlemcen, Tunis) |
Limoges – Bellegarde Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London Stansted, Newcastle, Southampton) |
Lorient South Brittany Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Agadir, Algiers, Annaba, Batna, Béjaïa, Biskra, Bodrum, Bucharest-Henri Coanda, Casablanca, Chlef, Constantine, Dakar, Djerba, Douala, Dublin, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jijel, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Marrakech, Monastir, Moscow-Domodedovo, Oran, Sétif, Sfax, Southampton, Tozeur, Tlemcen, Tunis, Yaoundé), seasonal scheduled flights (Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir, Montreal–Trudeau, Split, Yerevan) and charter flights (Burgas, Dubrovnik, London Luton, London Stansted, Shannon, Varna) |
Marseille Provence Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Agadir, Algiers, Annaba, Antalya, Antananarivo, Batna, Béjaïa, Biskra, Bodrum, Casablanca, Chlef, Constantine, Dakar, Djerba, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Marrakech, Monastir, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Oran, Sétif, Sfax, Tlemcen, Tozeur, Tunis, Yaoundé) and seasonal scheduled flights (Bristol, Dublin, Montreal–Trudeau, Quebec City, Toronto-Pearson, Yerevan) |
Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Algiers), seasonal scheduled flights (Constantine, Oran) and seasonal charter flights |
Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Casablanca, Fez, Nador) and seasonal scheduled flights (Algiers, Leeds/Bradford, London Luton, Oran) |
Nantes Atlantique Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | On request outside peak season | Regular scheduled flights (Agadir, Casablanca, London City, Marrakech) and seasonal scheduled flights (Djerba, Dublin, Larnaca, London Gatwick, Manchester, Monastir, Montréal-Trudeau, Shannon, Southampton, Toronto-Pearson, Tunis) |
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Algiers, Agadir, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Casablanca, Constantine, Djerba, Doha, Dubai, Dublin, Istanbul-Atatürk, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted, Marrakech, Monastir, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, St Petersburg, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tunis) and seasonal scheduled flights (Belfast-International, Beirut, Birmingham, Cork, Djerba, Nottingham/East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kyiv-Boryspil, Larnaca, London City, Manchester, Monastir, Montréal-Trudeau, New York-JFK, Newcastle, Olbia, Praia, Shannon, Southampton, Toronto-Pearson, Tozeur) |
Nîmes–Alès–Camargue–Cévennes Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (London Luton) and seasonal scheduled flights (Liverpool) |
Charles de Gaulle Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights |
Paris Orly Airport | Police aux frontières | Customs | Permanent | Regular scheduled flights (Abidjan, Agadir, Aleppo, Algiers, Annaba, Antananarivo, Bamako, Batna, Béjaïa, Biskra, Bodrum, Constantine, Dakar, Damascus, Djanet, Djerba, Essaouira, Fes, Havana, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Izmir, Kayes, London City, London Heathrow, Luxor, Marrakech, Mauritius, Miami, Monastir, Montréal–Trudeau, Newark, Oran, Ouagadougou, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat, Santiago de Cuba, Sétif, Sfax, Southampton, Tamanrasset, Tangier, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Tlemcen, Tozeur, Tunis) |
Pau Pyrénées Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (London City) and seasonal scheduled flights (Dublin) |
Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Birmingham, Dublin, London Stansted, Southampton) |
Poitiers–Biard Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (Edinburgh, London Stansted, Manchester) |
Quimper–Cornouaille Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Seasonal scheduled flights (London City) |
Rennes–Saint-Jacques Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Southampton) and seasonal scheduled flights (Cork, Dublin, Exeter, Manchester, Shannon) |
Rodez–Aveyron Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (London Stansted) and seasonal scheduled flights (Dublin) |
Rouen Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Saint-Brieuc – Armor Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Regular scheduled flights (Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen) |
Saint-Nazaire Montoir Airport | Customs | Customs | On request | Infrequent charter flights |
Metropolitan France's only land border with a non-Schengen country is with Andorra, while the Channel Tunnel forms a railway link with the United Kingdom. The overseas departments and territories of France are not part of the Schengen Area. French Guiana borders Brazil and Suriname, whereas Saint-Martin borders Sint Maarten.
In the 1991 Sangatte Protocol, France signed an agreement with the United Kingdom to introduce 'juxtaposed controls' (in French, des bureaux de contrôles nationaux juxtaposés, or 'BCNJ') at Eurostar and Eurotunnel stations.
This means that, when travelling from the UK to France by Eurostar, French immigration checks are carried out by the Police aux Frontières on British soil before boarding the train, whilst French customs checks take place upon arrival on French soil. When travelling in the reverse direction from France to the UK by Eurostar, French immigration exit checks and British immigration checks both take place on French soil before boarding the train, whilst British customs checks take place upon arrival on British soil. The exception is at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, where the UK Border Force no longer maintains a full presence and passengers boarding the Eurostar there clear immigration and customs on arrival in the UK.
When travelling from the UK to France by Eurotunnel, French immigration and customs checks both take place on British soil before boarding the train. When travelling from France to the UK by Eurotunnel, after French immigration exit checks, British immigration and customs checks both take place on French soil before boarding the train shuttle.
Border crossing point | French agency responsible for checks | Nature of presence | Trains to/from outside the Schengen Area | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Immigration | Customs | |||
Bourg-Saint-Maurice railway station | Customs | Customs | Seasonal (beginning of December to mid-April) | Seasonal Eurostar ski service |
Calais Fréthun railway station | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Up to 3 Eurostar trains per day to/from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. |
Eurotunnel Calais Terminal, Coquelles | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Frequent Eurotunnel Shuttle services to/from Cheriton, Kent. |
Lille Europe railway station | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Up to 10 Eurostar trains per day to/from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. |
Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy railway station | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Up to 1 Eurostar train per day to/from London St Pancras. |
Moûtiers–Salins–Brides-les-Bains railway station | Customs | Customs | Seasonal (beginning of December to mid-April) | Seasonal Eurostar ski service |
Paris North railway station | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Up to 16 Eurostar trains per day to/from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. |
El Pas de la Casa Andorra road crossing | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent |
In 2003, France signed an agreement with the United Kingdom to introduce 'juxtaposed controls' (in French, des bureaux de contrôles nationaux juxtaposés, or 'BCNJ') at Dover on the British side and at Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer on the French side.
This means that, when travelling from Dover to France by ferry, French immigration checks are carried out by the Police aux Frontières on British soil before boarding the ferry, whilst French customs checks take place upon arrival on French soil. When travelling in the reverse direction from Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer in France to the UK by ferry, French immigration exit checks and British immigration checks both take place on French soil before boarding the ferry, whilst British customs checks take place upon arrival on British soil.
Border crossing point | French agency responsible for checks | Nature of presence | Ferries to/from outside the Schengen Area | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Immigration | Customs | Company | Foreign port(s) | ||
Caen port | Customs | Customs | Permanent | Brittany Ferries | Portsmouth |
Calais port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | DFDS Seaways and P&O Ferries | Dover |
Carteret port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Manche Îles Express | Guernsey and Jersey |
Cherbourg port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Brittany Ferries Irish Ferries | Poole and Portsmouth Rosslare |
Diélette port | Customs | Customs | Permanent | Manche Îles Express | Alderney and Guernsey |
Dieppe port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | DFDS Seaways | Newhaven |
Dunkirk port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | DFDS Seaways | Dover |
Granville port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Manche Îles Express | Jersey |
Le Havre port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | LD Lines | Portsmouth |
Marseille port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Algérie Ferries | Algiers, Bejaia, Oran and Skikda |
Roscoff port | Customs | Customs | Permanent | Brittany Ferries Irish Ferries | Cork and Plymouth Rosslare |
Saint Malo port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Brittany Ferries Condor Ferries | Portsmouth Guernsey, Jersey, Poole, Weymouth |
Sète port | Police aux Frontières | Customs | Permanent | Comarit | Nador and Tangier |
The Channel Tunnel, sometimes referred to informally as the Chunnel, is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 metres (246 ft) below the sea bed and 115 metres (377 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel.
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it also encompasses controls imposed on internal borders within a single state.
A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal sanctions. Arrangements or treaties may be formed to allow or mandate less restrained crossings. Land border checkpoints can be contrasted with the customs and immigration facilities at seaports, international airports, and other ports of entry.
LeShuttle is a railway shuttle service between Calais in France and Folkestone in the United Kingdom. It conveys road vehicles and passengers by rail through the Channel Tunnel. Freight vehicles are carried in separate shuttle trains hauled by the same locomotives, that also contain a passenger carriage, known as the Club Car.
Brussels-South railway station is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium. Geographically, it is located in Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis on the border with the adjacent municipality of Anderlecht and just south of the City of Brussels.
The Schengen Area is an area encompassing 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains station is a railway station in the Savoie department of Southeastern France. The station, which is located in the town of Moûtiers, is served by three major high-speed services: the TGV and Eurostar.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice station is a railway station in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in south-east France.
The Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal is a railway terminal built for the transport of road-going vehicles on specially constructed trains through the Channel Tunnel. The station is located in Cheriton, a northern suburb of the town of Folkestone in the county of Kent. It is the terminal for the United Kingdom. On the French side is the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal located at Coquelles, near Calais. The passenger service building at the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal is called the Victor Hugo Terminal, named for the French author Victor Hugo.
La direction nationale de la police aux frontières is a directorate of the French National Police that is responsible for border control at certain border crossing points in France.
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Home Secretary Theresa May demerged it in March 2012 after severe criticism of the senior management.
The Eurotunnel Calais Terminal is a railway terminal built for the transport of road-going vehicles on specially constructed trains through the Channel Tunnel. The station is located in the commune of Coquelles in the Pas-de-Calais department near the city of Calais. It is the terminal for the France and by extension the rest of Continental Europe. On the British side is the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal located at Cheriton, near Folkestone. The passenger service building at the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal is called the Charles Dickens Terminal, named for the British author Charles Dickens.
Juxtaposed controls are a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls on certain cross-Channel routes take place before boarding the train or ferry, rather than upon arrival after disembarkation. With the exception of the Eurotunnel Shuttle route, customs checks remain unaffected by juxtaposed immigration controls and continue to take place upon arrival after disembarkation. Belgium, France and the Netherlands are all member states of the European Union and part of the border-free Schengen Area. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has never participated in the Schengen Area, even when it was a member state of the European Union. As a result, juxtaposed controls aim to increase the convenience and efficiency of border checks when travelling by train or ferry between the Schengen Area and the UK by removing the need for immigration checks on arrival and by streamlining checks on departure. At the same time, juxtaposed controls are intended to detect and prevent illegal immigration. In 2016, there were over 56,000 instances when people were refused entry to the UK at the juxtaposed controls.
The Port of Calais in northern France is the fourth largest port in France and the largest for passenger traffic. It accounts for more than a third of economic activity in the town of Calais.
PARAFE is a passport verification and border control system deployed in France and operated by French border guards. PARAFE consists of automated self-service gates, located at certain French border checkpoints and offer a faster alternative to manual checks at desks staffed by border guards. The gates use facial recognition technology to verify the user's identity against the data stored in the chip in their biometric passport.
Automated border control systems (ABC) or eGates are automated self-service barriers which use data stored in a chip in biometric passports along with a photo or fingerprint taken at the time of entering the eGates to verify the passport holder's identity. Travellers undergo biometric verification using facial or iris recognition, fingerprints, or a combination of modalities. After the identification process is complete and the passport holder's identity is verified, a physical barrier such as a gate or turnstile opens to permit passage. If the passport holder's identification is not verified or if the system malfunctions, then the gate or turnstile does not open and an immigration officer will meet the person. E-gates came about in the early 2000s as an automated method of reading the then-newly ICAO mandated e-passports.
The border between the countries of France and the United Kingdom in Europe is a maritime border that stretches along the Channel, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Channel Tunnel links the two countries underground and is defined as a 'land frontier', and not widely recognised as a land border.
Controls imposed on internal borders within a single state or territory include measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders through border controls.
la PAF a-t-elle vocation à se voir attribuer les PPF au « trafic permanent significatif en provenance de pays sources d'immigration ou qui possèdent une importance justifiant une présence policière et douanière permanente »