During the Quai d’Orsay’s daily press briefing on 23 July, Foreign-Ministry spokesperson Anne Claire Legendre confirmed that France had supported a new EU provision that bars the issuance of Schengen visas to individuals who have “actively fought in the Russian armed forces” in Ukraine. The restriction forms part of the 21st sanctions package adopted earlier that morning in Brussels and covering 220 additional persons and entities. The visa ban closes a loophole that had allowed dual nationals or contract fighters to enter the Schengen area for tourism, business or medical treatment despite being on asset-freeze lists. Under the forthcoming implementing act, national consulates—including France’s—must automatically refuse short- or long-stay applications from listed combatants and their immediate family members. Existing multiple-entry visas will be revoked. French officials insisted the move targets security risks, not ordinary Russian travellers, but rights groups warn of profiling at external borders. Travel-management companies with Russian clientele should prepare for higher refusal rates and longer screening times, especially for attendees of Paris trade fairs and Côte d’Azur property shows. Multinationals that need to move Russian engineers to French sites will need ‘work permit carte bleue’ exemptions cleared directly by the Interior Ministry. The package also tightens due-diligence rules on crypto-payments and alternative rail routes through third countries—measures likely to increase compliance costs for French logistics providers handling dual-use goods. Businesses are advised to review invitee lists against the new visa-ban annex once published in the EU Official Journal next week.
