French Crit'Air sticker and old vehicles?

[FridgeFreezer]

Later this year we'll be passing through Rouen which now needs a Crit'Air sticker of Level 3 or better:

https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/france/rouen

The application for a sticker asks for "date of first registration" - which, for the ambulance, is 2004 despite the fact it was born in 1988.

As part of the application you have to scan a copy of the V5 and upload it - so it will show DOFR is 2004 but with none of the emissions sections filled out as would be expected for a 2004 vehicle.

Further down the page, it says "Classic vehicles" are exempt but gives no explanation of that class.

Putting the build date into their "guess my category" page tells me it's not eligible for a sticker (in a red warning box), putting 2004 in shows it as a level 3 even though it's almost certainly not.

 

So - any Frenchies or other foreign folk know the right course of action here? Do we just get an L3 sticker and call it done? Can we count as a exempt classic?

We don't really want to fall foul of les Gendarmes or come home to an automated fine on the doormat, but we also don't really want to have to detour down the back roads unless someone knows a good route that avoids Rouen.

[Peaklander]

Not quite the help you are asking for but when we were last in France (2019) these ‘zones’ weren’t live all the time. I think they are switched on under certain weather conditions when particulate levels are high.

So whether or not it’s an issue might also depend on when you are travelling. 

[Gazzar]

Does it have to be date of first civilian registration? Or would the B card do?

[elbekko]

Had a quick read even though my French isn't brilliant: https://www.metropole-rouen-normandie.fr/zone-faibles-emissions-mobilite

Age exemption needs to be specifically requested for collectors' vehicles, and will probably not apply for foreign vehicles.

The test project was until the first of march 2023.

How long are you planning on staying there? The tax/"fine" is €68/day, so might be easier/cheaper to just pay it for a day visit.

[Eightpot]

I just passed through Rouen last week on the way back to Abbeville/ calais using the main autoroute,  no signs or notifications that I noticed  so if you're just motoring through it may not apply on the autoroute

 

[Giles]

Bonjour,

Each city sets its own rules, so what happens in Rouen stays in Rouen.

I'll be going in and out of Toulouse several times over the coming days in vehicles that are banned from the LEZ - nobody will check, complain or fine me.

Perhaps Rouen is the same ?

[FridgeFreezer]

3 hours ago, elbekko said:

How long are you planning on staying there? The tax/"fine" is €68/day, so might be easier/cheaper to just pay it for a day visit.

We're literally driving through on the main road (the main Rouen "lack-of-bypass" road) on route to LeMans, Rouen just means sitting in traffic for an hour or so before getting back on the dual carriageway

 

@Giles I did see that enforcement was by police (not automated cameras) but the LeMans weekend attracts a LOT of police stopping Brits in sports cars so I would be hesitant to push my luck.

If we follow the website with our 2004 date of first registration we pay about 5 euro for a sticker and all is well, a lot cheaper than a 70 euro fine.

 

2 hours ago, Eightpot said:

I just passed through Rouen last week on the way back to Abbeville/ calais using the main autoroute,  no signs or notifications that I noticed  so if you're just motoring through it may not apply on the autoroute

Interesting, it'd be nice if that was the case but the website doesn't say that as far as I can see

[L19MUD]

15 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

@Giles I did see that enforcement was by police (not automated cameras) but the LeMans weekend attracts a LOT of police stopping Brits in sports cars so I would be hesitant to push my luck.

If we follow the website with our 2004 date of first registration we pay about 5 euro for a sticker and all is well, a lot cheaper than a 70 euro fine.

 

I would go for this option if I were you. If you are stopped then you can show your sticker and it is very unlikely they will delve further into the 2004 registration. Equally I think you will find the focus for Le Man will be on groups of sports cars who may be taking the P

We drove Calais-Paris-Il de re-Rouen-Calais last September in an RS7 and Panamera and were expecting to get pulled at some point being obviously together and British plates. The Gendarmes paid us no notice

[elbekko]

26 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

We're literally driving through on the main road (the main Rouen "lack-of-bypass" road) on route to LeMans, Rouen just means sitting in traffic for an hour or so before getting back on the dual carriageway

Sucks. Looked it up, and it is indeed explicitly also on the RN 338.

26 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

If we follow the website with our 2004 date of first registration we pay about 5 euro for a sticker and all is well, a lot cheaper than a 70 euro fine.

I doubt that'll fly, as it's based on the EURO emissions rating, the year of first registration is just a guideline to help people figure it out.

A detour like this might work?

[FridgeFreezer]

13 minutes ago, elbekko said:

A detour like this might work?

TBH a detour would probably be my choice anyway because Rouen absolutely sucks, sitting in stop/go traffic in the ambulance is not fun... I really must fit a LOF clutch slave sometime...

[Retroanaconda]

I’m heading down to the Pyrenees in September and a detour similar to the above is the current plan. It seems to be manually enforced and it’s unlikely to be a problem unless you draw attention to yourself, but an old British Land Rover does stand out somewhat amongst the sea of Peugeots and Renaults.

Worth it just to avoid the traffic as above. When I went through in 2021 the clutch master cylinder was failing so there was a lot of starting in gear and rev-matching going on  

[taurion]

I suggest going west of Rouen.

Go west on the A29 as far as Yvetôt and then south beside Caudebec-en-Caux, cross the  Seine by the Pont de Brotonne (free).

Continue south to Bourg-Achard to join the A28 south. No traffic jams just some local  traffic and you see a little bit of rural France.

[Nonimouse]

Loads of nice routes round Rouen.  Are you landing in Dieppe or L' Havre?  Ive noticed the Dieppe ferry is proper cheap this year, If you go from New Haven

I go through Beauvais to Soissons - but I have a duty to undertake at Vauxbuin, just outside Soissons. One that involves flowers and lots of deep thought

If you are going to Le Mans, take the bridge at Rives En Seine then jump on the A28 (if coming from Dieppe)

[Escape]

This is all about bureaucracy, nothing to do with the environment. So if you can get a sticker that says you're allowed in, just get it and be done with it. No one will check actual emissions, as long as the paperwork checks out. If you don't have documents stating the emission class, the default is by date of first registration. Especially in a model like the Defender that was pretty much unchanged 'till 2007 (or even 2016).

I'm in the opposite situation in Brussels: my other Range Rover, begin converted to commercial, doesn't have an official document stating the emission class. So the year of registration applies, meaning it was knocked down from Euro2 to Euro1 even though nothing mechanical was changed. And no longer allowed in. Still way cheaper to pay the emission tax @€1400/year than the roadtax for non-commercial.

Filip

[FridgeFreezer]

2 hours ago, Nonimouse said:

Are you landing in Dieppe or L' Havre?

Calais - SWMBO doesn't do bobbing about on the water

[Nonimouse]

12 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Calais - SWMBO doesn't do bobbing about on the water

Then take the little coast road along through La Touquet* (cool place) down to L'Havre, cross the Seine on the A29 at Harfleur, to Honfleur, down through Liseux and then onto the A28. Badaboom badabee

* some big funky chunks of concrete

 

If you cut accross to Abbeville. you could nip over to the CWG site at Eucourt Sur Somme and pay respect to the the three young lads who lie together, since 1940. One still uknown. Sadly no one else does** 

 

**sort of hobby of mine. We all waffle on about 'not forgetting' around 11th November time. Then promptly forget a little while later

[Stellaghost]

38 minutes ago, Nonimouse said:

Then take the little coast road along through La Touquet* (cool place) down to L'Havre, cross the Seine on the A29 at Harfleur, to Honfleur, down through Liseux and then onto the A28. Badaboom badabee

* some big funky chunks of concrete

 

If you cut accross to Abbeville. you could nip over to the CWG site at Eucourt Sur Somme and pay respect to the the three young lads who lie together, since 1940. One still uknown. Sadly no one else does** 

 

**sort of hobby of mine. We all waffle on about 'not forgetting' around 11th November time. Then promptly forget a little while later

Le Touquet, great motorcycle beach race there in February ( I think ), bitterly bitterly cold could not even hammer tent pegs in the ground when I was there

Its quite sobering to see all the war memorial sites, the names, the crosses etc. 

We always make a point of visiting when in the area to pay our respects

Regards Stephen

[Nonimouse]

33 minutes ago, Stellaghost said:

Le Touquet, great motorcycle beach race there in February ( I think ), bitterly bitterly cold could not even hammer tent pegs in the ground when I was there

Its quite sobering to see all the war memorial sites, the names, the crosses etc. 

We always make a point of visiting when in the area to pay our respects

Regards Stephen

My family searched for my Great great uncle for almost 100 years. It became a family tradition. My holidays, as a kid, then growing up, all the way through to know have always involved a visit to a CWC site. Over the lst 25 years a lot of those have been the single graves, or small groups in churchyards - even here in my own village. A quick tidy, a moment of reflection, a record in my memory.

We found him in the end, by the way

[Peaklander]

2 hours ago, Escape said:

Still way cheaper to pay the emission tax @€1400/year than the roadtax for non-commercial.

Slightly OT but a friend with a 2012 90 Puma diesel CSW has complained about being charged in the new 'clean air zone' in Sheffield, whereas my 1996 110 300TDi CSW isn't. His vehicle is in LGV class and mine is PLG. It seems that the later built CSWs were classed as LGV (light goods vehicle) to keep the annual road tax much lower than it would otherwise have been. So I politely pointed this out to him.

[FridgeFreezer]

7 hours ago, Nonimouse said:

Then take the little coast road along through La Touquet* (cool place) down to L'Havre, cross the Seine on the A29 at Harfleur, to Honfleur, down through Liseux and then onto the A28. Badaboom badabee

That looks lovely if only we didn't have somewhere to be - it does add about 90 minutes to the journey though, not including stopping at sights.

Anyway - sticker applied for, we'll see if they come back to us with a oui or a non

[Nonimouse]

10 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

That looks lovely if only we didn't have somewhere to be - it does add about 90 minutes to the journey though, not including stopping at sights.

Anyway - sticker applied for, we'll see if they come back to us with a oui or a non

Add a day on either end of your holiday. Lifes to short to be worrying about time

[FridgeFreezer]

2 hours ago, Nonimouse said:

Add a day on either end of your holiday. Lifes to short to be worrying about time

Work and mortgage says otherwise I'm afraid - and adding days to the trip takes away days that can be spent elsewhere on other adventures.

[Nonimouse]

1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Work and mortgage says otherwise I'm afraid - and adding days to the trip takes away days that can be spent elsewhere on other adventures.

Fair enough