Drivers warned to heed French emissions restrictions

Insurance provider RAC has issued a reminder to motorists travelling to France to familiarise themselves with emissions rules in place in some regions of the country, designed to tackle pollution.

A number of cities in France including Paris, Grenoble and Lyon now operate the Crit’Air scheme, which applies restrictions for certain vehicles during peak times for pollution.

The Crit’Air scheme has been implemented in Paris

In Paris, the scheme sees drivers place a sticker with one of six different categories on their car to denote the level of tailpipe emissions. Those travelling at the wrong time or failing to display an emissions sticker face a fine.

RAC has warned that up to a third of motorists heading from the UK to France are currently not familiar with the regulations.

The organisation has produced a table to help motorists understand which Euro emissions category their vehicle falls into.

Application

RAC European Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis encourages all British drivers taking their vehicles to France to apply now for a Crit’Air sticker via the official French Government website, which has an English language option.

According to reports in France, already almost 50,000 UK drivers have applied.

Mr Dennis, said: “It’s also important to remember that France is in effect operating two different types of emission control schemes, both of which rely on vehicles displaying a Crit’Air sticker. Paris and Grenoble have started operating permanent schemes that apply to particular times during the week, while others such as Lyon and Lille currently only use emergency schemes — giving the cities power to ban vehicles when pollution is expected to reach a certain level.

“But we expect as time moves on that an increasing number of towns and cities will probably opt for permanent schemes.

“Drivers should ensure they apply only via the official French government website as the RAC is aware of a number of third party websites that sell the same sticker for substantially more money. A scan (or photo) of the car’s registration form will need to be uploaded, and it will also be necessary to check the Euro emissions category of the vehicle.”