The airports themselves continue to fight against an edict issued on November 1, 2016, barring flights from outside the Schengen Area from landing at a number of small airports in France, including St Tropez. The decision was taken by the French government to reduce policeman hours.

Customs and police officials were withdrawn from a total of 13 small, but important, airports that lost their precious PPF status (point de passage frontalier). Critics of the move say that significant revenue is being lost, with repercussions for employment, principally in the tourism sector, as private flights are being turned away. In particular, flights from Russia and the Arab states have been affected.

Furthermore, the move was made without prior consultation and in contrast with the government’s frequent declarations of wanting a more inclusive decision-making process, critics say.

The affected airports are: Montbéliard, Besançon, Metz, Annemasse, Agen, Vichy, La Roche sur Yon, Nevers, Lannion, Abbeville, and Amiens, and two within the Var region, St Tropez and Le Castellet.