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Driving through France for work

Driving through France for work

Old Nov 17th 2020, 9:08 pm
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Default Driving through France for work

I purchase classic cars in Europe (its my job) and need to look at 2 cars for buyers I have. Am I allowed to travel through France at the moment to view the cars? Obviously not sightseeing and will only be looking at cars, hotel then back to UK.
Thanks

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Old Nov 18th 2020, 7:01 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by shacho
I purchase classic cars in Europe (its my job) and need to look at 2 cars for buyers I have. Am I allowed to travel through France at the moment to view the cars? Obviously not sightseeing and will only be looking at cars, hotel then back to UK.
Thanks
Presuming you can actually get to France, the downloadable "Attestation de Déplacement Dérogatoire" would cover you, under the first motive: "déplacements professionnels ne pouvant pas être différés", provided, of course, that you can prove that you're a professional and that you can't postpone such a business trip. Remember that restaurants/cafés/bars are closed and that hotels which are open can, at best, only offer room-service for breakfast.
HTH
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 7:22 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

You will also need to self-isolate in the UK when you return.
Just read this in the paper this morning:

"AT least 14 people have been stopped and fined for trying to leave Britain via the Channel Tunnel in breach of the latest coronavirus rules".

Last edited by cyrian; Nov 18th 2020 at 7:53 am.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 8:54 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by cyrian
You will also need to self-isolate in the UK when you return.
Just read this in the paper this morning:

"AT least 14 people have been stopped and fined for trying to leave Britain via the Channel Tunnel in breach of the latest coronavirus rules".
I hadn't seen this. Without trying to be pedantic (and possibly failing) I thought that leaving UK wasn't illegal under covid regs as such, but traveling to your point of departure was, unless you had a valid reason. Since we're still hoping to come home to France at the end of November I tried again to find specific regulations covering rights to leave UK and failed. Everything I could find concerns travel within UK and quarantining on arrival. So I think we have a valid reason to travel to Heathrow Airport, but could be stopped from leaving by someone who choses to interpret the unexplained regs in a different way from us.
As an aside we just spent 3 nights in one of the few hotels still open near us while we moved and had nowhere to sleep in the new house with the bed delivery delayed by lockdown. Again I searched the government websites and found that certain people such as business men were allowed to stay in hotels and other limited reasons. I never found out what the other limited reasons were and nor did the hotel when we asked. They just took a chance on us. I certainly don't agree with flagrantly breaking lockdown rules, which are in place to save lives, but the government advice has been extremely vague in some specific areas.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 9:31 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

According to the artlcle, you can't leave the country
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkest...%20regulations.

I know that in Wales, which is not in lockdown, you can currently travel freely within Wales but outside of Wales except for work and other essential purposes. So it would be a bit odd if England which is in full lockdown allows people to leave England - but then, so many things are odd?

However, I think the crux of it is, do you have a good reason to travel. If your home is in France that is very different from deciding to go for a holiday. If you have a good reason you can travel to your departure point and depart. If you don't have a good reason, you shouldn't be travelling to a port or airport and you shouldn't be departing the country, you should be staying at home.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 10:24 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by EuroTrash
According to the artlcle, you can't leave the country
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkest...%20regulations.

I know that in Wales, which is not in lockdown, you can currently travel freely within Wales but outside of Wales except for work and other essential purposes. So it would be a bit odd if England which is in full lockdown allows people to leave England - but then, so many things are odd?

However, I think the crux of it is, do you have a good reason to travel. If your home is in France that is very different from deciding to go for a holiday. If you have a good reason you can travel to your departure point and depart. If you don't have a good reason, you shouldn't be travelling to a port or airport and you shouldn't be departing the country, you should be staying at home.
I couldn't get the link to work.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 10:32 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by EuroTrash
According to the artlcle, you can't leave the country
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkest...%20regulations.

I know that in Wales, which is not in lockdown, you can currently travel freely within Wales but outside of Wales except for work and other essential purposes. So it would be a bit odd if England which is in full lockdown allows people to leave England - but then, so many things are odd?

However, I think the crux of it is, do you have a good reason to travel. If your home is in France that is very different from deciding to go for a holiday. If you have a good reason you can travel to your departure point and depart. If you don't have a good reason, you shouldn't be travelling to a port or airport and you shouldn't be departing the country, you should be staying at home.
I hadn't been looking at it from the UK standpoint, only if the OP actually gets to France. I suppose that if he can justify that looking at cars in France with a view to selling to UK clients is a good enough reason to leave the UK, and then prove to the French Authorities (who will certainly check a UK-registered car entering France) that the business trip is absolutely indispensable and not postponable, then he could try his luck. But since the administrative procedures (change of ownership) have all slowed down due to Covid, I suspect that the French mindset would say, wait until the respective lockdowns have been lifted, a few weeks won't make much difference....
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 10:57 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by cyrian
I couldn't get the link to work.
Hey ho. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
Sorry, not sure I can be bothered finding it again, but I expect Google will be your friend

EDIT - here you go https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkest...ave-uk-237565/
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 11:01 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

@dmu I'm not sure the OP is travelling from the UK. Alianco would be - but he's not the OP.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 11:43 am
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by EuroTrash
@dmu I'm not sure the OP is travelling from the UK. Alianco would be - but he's not the OP.
The OP does say "then back to the UK"
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 1:01 pm
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by cyrian
The OP does say "then back to the UK"
You're right they do, my bad.
Strange because from the OP's other posts, they appear to live in Spain.
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Old Nov 18th 2020, 1:08 pm
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by EuroTrash
@dmu I'm not sure the OP is travelling from the UK. Alianco would be - but he's not the OP.
As per Cyrian's reply.
Alianco is in a different situation, they are returning to their principal place of residence (France).
I was also wondering whether the OP will be visiting private vendors or a dealership, not that it makes much difference, but the risks are doubled if there are two private vendors, and a dealership is more likely to properly sanitize their premises and the cars before and after trying them out...
P.S. Posts crossed!
Curiouser and curiouser...
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Old Nov 20th 2020, 2:24 pm
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

I know "a friend" who has travelled to France this week from the UK in a UK registered car with their family by ferry and is not resident in France. At the English end, you get asked by customs why you are travelling but if you have a sensible answer (e.g. I've left my job in xx country and am now moving to France to gain residency there) then it's fine. At the french end, they ask where you're travelling and look in your car and all is fine. No issues getting from UK to France in this case - no evidence of any kind requested. Driving around in France, you need to have an attestation filled out but "my friend" hasn't seen anyone being actually stopped and checked (yet). Everyone's experience may be different of course.

Good luck!

Last edited by FriendlyExpat; Nov 20th 2020 at 2:29 pm.
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Old Nov 20th 2020, 3:43 pm
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by FriendlyExpat
I know "a friend" who has travelled to France this week from the UK in a UK registered car with their family by ferry and is not resident in France. At the English end, you get asked by customs why you are travelling but if you have a sensible answer (e.g. I've left my job in xx country and am now moving to France to gain residency there) then it's fine. At the french end, they ask where you're travelling and look in your car and all is fine. No issues getting from UK to France in this case - no evidence of any kind requested. Driving around in France, you need to have an attestation filled out but "my friend" hasn't seen anyone being actually stopped and checked (yet). Everyone's experience may be different of course.

Good luck!
Funnily enough, I saw gendarmes checking cars yesterday, the first time in my neck of the woods since the first confinement. So, yes, any one can be stopped anywhere, but if you have the correct documents, there's no fine to pay.
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Old Nov 20th 2020, 5:05 pm
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Default Re: Driving through France for work

Originally Posted by dmu
Funnily enough, I saw gendarmes checking cars yesterday, the first time in my neck of the woods since the first confinement. So, yes, any one can be stopped anywhere, but if you have the correct documents, there's no fine to pay.
I was stopped twice in my car during the first lock down, once locally on the way to the supermarket and once coming off the peage near Narbonne when the travel restrictions had been eased to within100km from your home. Both times I had the correct paperwork so it was all ok. I'm a bit more skeptical of walking within 1km of your home as the crow flies being tightly policed. The maximum one hour is easy to check, but I don't know how they measure the distance. Not impossible, but I suspect they'd rely on guesswork and a nudge back if they thought you were pushing it. I could well be wrong of course.
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