Driving to France? Check if you need a new emissions sticker to avoid a fine

juliasdream

I will be driving in France in less than 10 days time and I don't trust ordering a vignette and getting it in time
Does anyone know if one can still receive mail at post offices when addressed via Poste Restante
Its a service I used many years ago and used to be free
Does it still exist and is it still free. What charge (if any)?

I tried calling but all post offices in France have 08 numbers which are the equivalent to our 0870 ones and cant be called from UK

cfw1994

AdrianC wrote: »

The whole idea of the sticker is that it's not easily portable between vehicles.

Trouble is you may have to replace a windscreen (speaking as someone who has had one replaced in the past 3 months!). & it DOES have the number plate on it, so no more of a concern than our old tax discs were in that regard!

Luckily I can confirm that I asked them the question, and got the positive reply:

"You can sure fix the certificate to the left side of your windscreen."

So good news!

juliasdream wrote: »

I will be driving in France in less than 10 days time and I don't trust ordering a vignette and getting it in time
Does anyone know if one can still receive mail at post offices when addressed via Poste Restante

Not sure about the Poste Restante, I'm sorry. I do seem to recall getting the vignette inside 2 weeks though.....for a fiver, I would order it pronto and hope!

juliasdream

I planned to travel in France around the beginning of September
Only yesterday I learned about the need of special badges to enter major cities and it's really upset my plans

My biggest problem has firstly how to discover exactly which zones have the restrictions and when do they apply

A whole afternoon of investigating it and trying to understand all the ins and outs I still have some questions gone unanswered
I don't see myself as being dyslexic but I feel one would need a degree to understand it all perfectly.

I found an app for my phone which gives a lot of info including maps of zones. It's a live app so gives current info on restrictions
I recommend that anyone using the app not to buy their badges through it. They charge around 6 times the official fee but apart from that it's very useful
The app is called Green Zones https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=greenzones.app&hl=en

Questions I still have
I understand that one doesn't need a badge to travel through the zones over night. Is this true? If so what times apply?

If it is true and I drive into a zone such as Paris or Lille. Can I remain there parked up without driving until a time where there is no restrictions. I'm picturing policemen walking around at night pouncing on vehicles without a badge.

I see there are 2 kinds of zones in each city. ZCR and ZPA and I would like to understand the differences in simple terms
I'd be grateful if anyone can help

I could sit down for another day and try to fathom it all out but I'm extremely busy with other commitments

I did however order my vignette online very early this morning and hopefully it will arrive on time If it doesn't I'll just have to avoid the areas where it's needed which would be very inconvenient.

I'd find it hard to believe that I'm the only one puzzled by all this

Iceweasel

This site should help:

http://www.urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/france

juliasdream

Iceweasel wrote: »

This site should help:

http://www.urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/france

Thanks Iceweasel, I had already tried that site but that too lacks information that would have been very useful
For example

Scheme boundaries
city center - map follows as soon as available
Hours of operation
Not yet known
Exemptions
Not yet known

They must be making a fortune in fines from people unaware of the scheme (I only found out by chance) and lack of important information. Not to mention how complicated the whole scheme is. I'm sure not everyone can make sense of it all. What about people who drive cars who are dyslexic
I wonder how understanding the authorities will be considering that the scheme is fairly new

juliasdream

Finally I have some good news
I just received an email from the certificate-air-gouv in response to questions I had
It included an attatchment with a photo of my certificate which I can display while waiting for it in the post with the following
"the coupon below can be used as a provisional classification of the vehicle receipt pending the receipt of the certificate of quality air mail."

balsingh

Hi,

Off to France next week and have concerns about this as I haven't got a sticker. Before everyone goes off saying I should have gone one, I just bought a new car this week and have no time to apply for the sticker. As a result, have a few questions ...

Can you drive within Paris outside the prescribed hours (8-8) without a sticker?
Can you leave a car PARKED within Paris during the prescribed hours without a sticker? Someone said it only relates to cars being DRIVEN as opposed to PARKED.
Finally, how is this enforced? Cameras or do you have to be stopped by a gendarme?

Based on the answers to the above, wondering if its feasible to drive into Paris after 8pm when the sticker isn't needed and leave the car parked up during the stay (free street parking near where I am staying and then use public transport) ... then leave Paris after 8pm too.

Thanks in advance.

polyphonic99

How long does the Crit'Air (clean air sticker) last?
Do you have to renew it annually/periodically, or is it just a one off purchase.

Apologies if this has already been answered, I had a quick scan on previous comments but didn't see it mentioned

Thanks

Iceweasel

It's a 'one off'.

However it cannot be removed from the windscreen and re-applied - so if you need a replacement screen you need to order a new sticker.

Same goes for the German one.