Kochi: The 112 French nationals stranded in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been evacuated to Paris in a special Air India flight.
The French citizens including tourists who came for Ayurveda treatment were flown out as per the request of French Embassy in India.
The 112 citizens including three year old toddler and 85- year old person were repatriated from Cochin international airport.
The tourists who are asymptomatic and have completed 14 days in quarantine or tested negative have been chosen for repatriation. Kerala Tourism and the Consulate General of France in Puducherry worked together for making the arrangements for evacuation. The 112 tourists include few European Union nationals as well. The Consul General of France was in Kochi to oversee the registration and ensure a smooth repatriation of the tourists
- Rani George, Secretary, Kerala Tourism.
These French citizens arrived in Kerala before March 11 and were stuck in different parts of the state and they were brought to Kochi.
However, there are few French citizens who preferred to remain in Kerala citing that Kerala is safer than France where more than 5300 Covid deaths have been reported.
There are nearly 200 UK and US citizens and less than 100 foreigners from Russia are remaining in Kerala now.
