France reverses Russia ban after chateau turns away visitors

The Chateau de Vincennes is one of Europe's best-preserved mediaeval fortresses

The Chateau de Vincennes is one of Europe's best-preserved mediaeval fortresses

France said Tuesday that a ban on Russian nationals entering military installations had been applied too rigidly when two Russian visitors were turned away at the Chateau de Vincennes, a mediaeval fortress and tourist attraction on the edge of Paris.

Once the residence of French kings and among Europe's best-preserved monuments of its kind, the castle is for the most part open to the public, including for tours, concerts, theatre plays and other events.

Technically therefore a military installation, it is covered by a French ban on Russian nationals entering army territory that was issued after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

"A guard at the metal detector asked to see my passport," said one of the women, 31, who works as a journalist and has been in France for five months, having left Russia "precisely because I am opposed to the war".

Another guard also denied her entry and gave as the reason "because you are Russian", she said, adding she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Contacted by AFP on Monday, the defence ministry confirmed that it had, indeed, "restricted access to military installations to Russian nationals" because of the invasion.

"This rule cannot be applied in the same way for strategic sites and for sites accessible to the public, such as museums," a spokesman said.

Each year some 150,000 people visit the chateau, paying 9.50 euros ($9.70) per adult admission.

Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February, France has taken in some 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, government figures show.

There has been debate within the European Union about whether further limits should be placed on Russians visiting the bloc for tourism or personal reasons.  

And on Tuesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on EU government to "stop issuing tourist visas to Russians".

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