Data through 2026-09-13 (13 September 2026)
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France closes its border to freight from the United Kingdom

France closes its border to freight from the United Kingdom. The disruption ran from 2020-12-20 (20 December 2020) to 2020-12-23 (23 December 2020), 4 days, affecting Dover, Calais. Calais averaged 0.8 calls per day during the event window against an expected 0.5 (+0.3). Dover averaged 0.8 calls per day during the event window against an expected 0.1 (+0.6).

Key facts

Started
2020-12-20 (20 December 2020)
Ended
2020-12-23 (23 December 2020)
Status
ended
Severity
2 Moderate
Scope
regional
Chokepoints
None
Lanes
None
Confidence
high: The prohibition and its end date are set out in the French decree, and the reopening protocol and testing requirement in a Department for Transport statement, with consistent reporting by three established outlets.
First reported
2020-12-20 (20 December 2020)
  • Severity basis: Port wide stoppage of 24 hours to seven days, with the Port of Dover closed to accompanied traffic leaving the United Kingdom from the evening of 2020-12-20 until services resumed on 2020-12-23.

What happened

On 2020-12-20 (20 December 2020) France barred arrivals from the United Kingdom over a coronavirus variant reported there, and the Port of Dover closed to accompanied traffic leaving the country. A French decree published the following day prohibited travel from the United Kingdom until midnight on 2020-12-23. Lorries queued in Kent, with 632 on the M20 and 2,188 at Manston airfield on 2020-12-22 according to figures reported that day. The United Kingdom and France agreed a protocol on 2020-12-22 under which sea, rail and air services resumed the next morning, with drivers required to show a negative test taken in the previous 72 hours. Queues at Dover took several more days to clear.

Measured effect

Port calls, Dover

Baseline (expected)
0.1 calls per day
Observed
0.8 calls per day
Change
+0.6 (percent omitted, baseline too small)
Standardised score
+0.6
Event window
2020-12-20 to 2020-12-23 (4 days)
Baseline window
2020-10-18 to 2020-12-12 (56 valid days)
Method
wfm-effect-1.0
Computed
2026-09-16 (16 September 2026), data revision 1:b80e0b6ddca7

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Calais

Baseline (expected)
0.5 calls per day
Observed
0.8 calls per day
Change
+0.3 (percent omitted, baseline too small)
Standardised score
+0.3
Event window
2020-12-20 to 2020-12-23 (4 days)
Baseline window
2020-10-18 to 2020-12-12 (56 valid days)
Method
wfm-effect-1.0
Computed
2026-09-16 (16 September 2026), data revision 1:491145c8e19b

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Timeline

  1. France stops accepting arrivals from the United Kingdom over a reported coronavirus variant. The Port of Dover closes to accompanied traffic leaving the country and Channel Tunnel services are suspended. [s3] [s4]
  2. A French decree prohibiting travel from the United Kingdom to France until midnight on 23 December is published in the Journal officiel. [s1]
  3. The two governments agree a protocol to reopen the border for accompanied freight and some passenger services. Lorry drivers must take a lateral flow test, and travellers must show a negative test taken within 72 hours. [s2] [s3]
  4. Sea, rail and air services resume in the morning and testing of drivers begins in Kent. Reported figures that week put 632 lorries on the M20 and 2,188 at Manston airfield. [s2] [s3] [s5]
  5. Queues at Dover clear slowly as testing continues, with military personnel deployed to carry out tests. [s4]

Cause

The French government restricted movements from the United Kingdom because of the health situation there after a new coronavirus variant was reported, setting the prohibition out in a decree that ran until midnight on 2020-12-23. The United Kingdom Department for Transport then agreed a protocol with France to reopen the border with testing. Attributed by: Government of France. [s1] [s2]

Resolution

2020-12-23 (23 December 2020): The border reopened to accompanied freight on 2020-12-23 under a protocol requiring a negative test, and ferry and tunnel services resumed that morning. Clearing the lorries held in Kent took several more days. [s2] [s3] [s4]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-16 (16 September 2026).

Sources

  1. [s1] Légifrance, Décret n° 2020-1627 du 20 décembre 2020 modifiant le décret n° 2020-1310 du 29 octobre 2020 prescrivant les mesures générales nécessaires pour faire face à l'épidémie de covid-19 dans le cadre de l'état d'urgence sanitaire, published 2020-12-21 (21 December 2020), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
  2. [s2] Department for Transport, Protocol agreed to reopen French border to UK arrivals, published 2020-12-22 (22 December 2020), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
  3. [s3] Al Jazeera, France to reopen UK borders closed over new coronavirus strain, published 2020-12-22 (22 December 2020), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
  4. [s4] Euronews, Dover slowly clearing lorry queues after France relaxes UK blockade, published 2020-12-24 (24 December 2020), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)
  5. [s5] CNN, UK France border: Thousands of truck drivers scramble for tests at Dover after blockade is eased, published 2020-12-23 (23 December 2020), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)