Each summer, thousands of drivers head across the Channel to explore France by car. Being under your own steam allows you to have a flexible approach to a holiday, turning into new, unexplored areas as and when you fancy.
However, some recent changes in regulations mean that some areas of France might require some additional planning before you head into them. Here, we take a look at everything you need to know.
What are the clean air stickers?
Clean air stickers in France - called Crit’Air vignettes - are a way to clearly and easily see a car’s emissions. Different to other clean air zones in the UK, this system requires a vehicle to display a sticker relevant to how polluting it is, with the ‘dirtiest’ cars paying more to enter certain areas while the ‘cleanest’ ones can travel in for free.
There are six categories of stickers to denote the cleanest and the most polluting cars on the road.
Where are these stickers required?
There are a number of areas where these stickers are required with the bulk of them being utilised in inner-city areas where local emissions have been at their highest. There are also both permanent and temporary low emissions zones where the Crit’Air sticker will be required. In certain areas, cars may be refused entry if they are too polluting.
You’ll need to display a sticker on the right-hand side of the car’s windscreen in these areas.
But do UK cars still need that sticker?
Correct. Just because you’re coming from the UK doesn’t mean you’re exempt from the scheme, and you’ll need to make sure you’ve got one before entering a certain area. However, cars registered before January 1997 aren’t eligible for the scheme and simply won’t be allowed in low emissions zones whatsoever.
You can get a sticker via the French government website, though you’ll need to work out your car’s European Emissions Standard first. Once you’ve got that, you upload an image or scan of your car’s V5C registration form and, after that, a sticker will be posted to you. Bear in mind that postage can take between five and ten days, so give yourself plenty of time prior to your trip. Unfortunately, you’re not able to buy one once you’re in France - so you’ll need to have it prepared beforehand. Fortunately, it covers the lifespan of the vehicle so once you’ve got one, you won’t need to apply for another sticker.
How much do they cost?
Fortunately, the stickers aren’t too expensive and cost €4.61, inclusive of the cost of postage out to the UK.
Will I get a fine if I enter a zone without a Crit’Air Vignette?
That’s right. You could be fined up to £116 for entering a zone without the appropriate sticker, so it could quickly become an expensive holiday if you’ve failed to get one beforehand.
Where are the low emissions zones in place?
Since January 1 2023, the most polluting vehicles have been ‘subject to traffic restrictions in Low Emissions Zone’ with some Crit’Air 4 vehicles - the next most-polluting - also included in this. However, at present, there are 11 Low Emission Zones in place, so if you’re travelling to one of these cities, it’s worth double-checking to see if your car complies. The zones are located in:
- Paris
- Lyon
- Marseille
- Strasbourg
- Rouen
- Toulouse
- Nice
- Montpellier
- Grenoble
- Reims
At present, most of these zones affect only the most polluting vehicles, but the restrictions are becoming tighter so it’s best to double-check before travelling to avoid a fine later on.
What about emergency emissions zones?
In France, there are also a number of ‘emergency’ emissions zones where restrictions can be applied on a short-term basis to help address a spike in localised emissions. As with the fixed areas, you’ll need a Crit’Air sticker to enter them and certain cars - depending on their outputs - will be excluded from entering them. These areas are:
- Paris
- Annecy
- Chambery
- Arve Valley
- Côte d’Or/Dijon
- Creuse/Guéret
- Deux-Sèvres/Niort
- Drôme/Valence
- Eure-et-Loir/Chartres
- Gers/Auch
- Gironde/Bordeaux
- Grenoble
- Haute-Savoie/Annecy
- Hérault/Montpelier
- Isère/Grenoble
- Lille
- Loiret/Orléans
- Lyon
- Maine-et-Loire
- Marseille
- Puy-de-Dome/Clermont Ferrand
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Rennes
- Savoie/Chambery
- Strasbourg
- Toulouse
- Vendée/La Rouche-sur-Yon
- Vienne/Poitiers
As before, check out the French government website to see if any of these restrictions are in place.
