France seeks to prepare good conditions for pilgrims

A number of French ministries and government services are gearing up to prepare good conditions for pilgrims leaving from France for this year's Holy Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The Foreign Ministry is liaising with the French Interior Ministry and the Ministry for Trade, Artisans and Tourism to ensure that all information is available to pilgrims and that satisfactory health, safety and travel conditions are met for the pilgrimage which is expected to start on September 17. In 2012, 30,000 pilgrims left from French airports for the Hajj. France has an estimated five million Muslims, or about 8.0 percent of the total population. Some Muslims in North Africa also transit through France on their way to Saudi Arabia. The French authorities are giving specific advice this year on some health issues for older people and very young children and pregnant women in light of risks from Coronavirus exposure. But there is also a focus on the reliabilty of some service providers here and the authoritie are developing a "Quality Charter" in cooperation with registered and approved partners providing pilgrimage services in a number of areas.