Another slice of French road traffic law has come to light - Crit'Air.
This legislation aims to remove polluting vehicles from cities and areas liable to pollution. The worst offenders (in the eyes of the legislators) are older diesels AND ANY CAR REGISTERED BEFORE 1997!
These will be banned from entering restricted areas at certain times. ANY car in France who goes into these zones (and they may change at short notice) will need a Crit'Air vignette (windscreen sticker).
You may not need a vignette if you don't go into specific city areas. However many départements (like Vendée, 85) have imposed a blanket requirement for vignettes - just in case. Planning a route across France which avoids all current hotspots is tricky - and it may change before you get there.
The vignette categories vary from Green (electric) to type 1 (clean) and down to type 6 (dirty). Old cars such as ours are the lowest of the low but still need a vignette - it's grey with a red cross over it - UNCLEAN! It's a bit like living in a plague house in the middle ages.
You will not be allowed into daytime Paris (or many other cities) with a non-compliant vignette. Whether exceptions will be made for rallies etc is unclear.
What is clear that this has been in place since last year and is probably not fully policed yet - but it DOES apply to visitors and you can be fined a hefty fine if you don't have a vignette in the right area.
A vignette only costs about 4 euros but it may take some weeks to arrive. If you want to squander £3 or £4 in case, go to the RAC website and search for CRIT'AIR. It is explained there and there is a link to the French Govt website where there is an easy-to-use English instruction for the application. You will need to scan page 2 of your V5 UK registration certificate or the equivalent from other countries. You can pay by credit card - it's quite efficient.
If you don't have time to wait for the vignette - you may decide to apply anyway and you will get a receipt for your payment which MAY appease any over-conscientious flic.
Don't blame me for this - I live mostly in UK and part time in France and it IS an issue for residents and visitors alike. - just pointing out what is happening there.
It may or may not save the planet, but I'm just trying to stop MMM drivers being fined for non-compliance. Of course you may feel that as you're a foreigner just visiting, the law doesn't apply to you ......
Crit'air does not apply to classic cars & bikes. You can drive them in the cities no problem. I live in France and asked if it was necessary on my 1974 Citroen 2CV. I was told by the Crit'air site that it's not needed and I can drive in the cities.
I've just read the Crit'air site (www.crit-air.fr/fr/informations-sur-la-vignette-critair/la-vignette-critair/regles-dexception.html)(English version available)and it says that there is no national regime for "voitures de collection", though the vignette is still required. Rules of access to protected zones by old vehicles are set locally and it seems Paris is tolerant whereas Lyon & Grenoble are not. I don't think this adds up to "You can drive them in the cities no problem". It also points out that there can be stretches of motorway that pass through the protected zones so it's not just about going into the cities. The driver is responsible for justifying the "collection" (=classic or old-timer) designation when challenged by a gendarme. I don't think any Triple-M car would have a problem with that. However, showing him the "Historic" vehicle category on your V5c should be conclusive proof.
The RAC site has a list of currently affected cities and anticipates that Rouen & Bordeaux will soon be joining in too. Some zones are permanent and some are just set at particular times, e.g. when climatic conditions heighten the risk of smog or pollutants.
Forum Locked
Topic Locked
Posted - 26/07/2018 : 23:29:23
