IndiaNovember

Hi all,

We've just been stung 150€ for leaving our van in the same parking space for too long - apparently it is French law that vehicles need to be moved every 7 days. Has anyone else ever come across this?

Also, when we asked the 'ever-so-helpful' parking attendant (oh no wait, I mean incredibly unhelpful and smug) where we could find these rules so we didn't find ourselves with another fine for some other menial misdemeanour, he just said 'internet'. Does anyone know of other regulations that we need to know about when parking our car in France?!?!

EuroTrash

Where do you find the rules? ... erm... try the Code de la Route?

Leaving a vehicle parked in the same spot on a public road for more than 7 days is 'stationnement abusif'.

And yes, if you haven't read the Code de la Route then it's a safe bet that there are plenty of other rules that you don't know and might one day get fined for. Only one way to find out!

dmu

Each Municipality has its own regulations, and it might help if you tell us i) what sort of "space" you were parked in (e.g. there are regulations about leaving vehicles, esp. vans, too long in a supermarket car park, but if there was a parking attendant, the car park must have its tariffs, rules and regulations displayed); ii) whether it was the Police Municipale (or traffic warden) who fined you, or the "parking attendant".... If the former, go to your Commissariat or Mairie to enquire, if the latter, read the Regulations before you next enter.

EuroTrash

I think you'll find the 7-day limit is French national law. Municipalities can impose tighter restrictions if they like.

Article R417-12
Il est interdit de laisser abusivement un véhicule en stationnement sur une route.

Est considéré comme abusif le stationnement ininterrompu d'un véhicule en un même point de la voie publique ou de ses dépendances, pendant une durée excédant sept jours ou pendant une durée inférieure mais excédant celle qui est fixée par arrêté de l'autorité investie du pouvoir de police.

Tout stationnement abusif est puni de l'amende prévue pour les contraventions de la deuxième classe.

http://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode...Texte=20130113

dmu

thanks for that! I just found this unofficial link http://amende.comprendrechoisir.com/...nnement-abusif
but the OP didn't mention where the van was parked. I understood it to be a carpark, not the public highway....

EuroTrash

I assumed a public road because I don't think this 'article' would apply in a car park that had its own rules and tarifs posted. But if a car park has no signs telling you how long you can park for, does the 7 day limit still apply? Are car parks classed as public roads or dependences? Dunno!

IndiaNovember

Eurotrash, yes I'm aware of the Code de la Route - although I'm not fluent in French (is this wrong too??) I must say I found it somewhat challenging and didn't ever get round to reading it all - I was kind of hoping that by posting on this forum I might be able to glean some information from people who have maybe lived here longer, or have better French than I do.

Hi dmu, we weren't parked illegally in terms of the space we were in (it is a roadside parking area), and there definitely aren't any signs informing people of the 7 day rule or other limited parking regulations.

Fair enough, I mean if it's the law then it's the law, but we drive with English plates and so we obviously (I think) haven't learnt to drive in France and therefore internalised the Code so maybe they could have given us a bit of leeway? Well anyway, that's irrelevant now.... just hoping for some other pointers for avoiding other fines, or do I need to get busy with my dictionary?!?! :S

dmu

Hi, as mentioned on another thread, the maxim in France is "every one is supposed to know the law" and I would add another Latin one, that "ignorance of the law is no excuse". That's how it is here.
I was confused by your expression "parking attendant" when you must have meant a traffic warden....
Anyway, now you know, and you were lucky your van wasn't carted off to the "fourrière"....

EuroTrash

Sorry, wasn't meaning to offend - you asked where you could find these rules and I took that to be a genuine question, so I answered it.

As for other pointers, again - there are an awful lot of things in the Code that you may get fined for if you don't know, but I don't know what you know and what you don't? For instance, you probably know this already and will jump down my throat for mentioning it, but I have come across Brits who have driven in France for years and never realised that a speed limit of 50kph always applies when you enter an agglomeration, as indicated by a sign giving the name of the commune e.g. this sign
Unless a different speed limit is shown on a separate sign, when you go past the town name the speed limit is 50 until you go past the sign at the other end of the agglomeration, which is the name with a line across it.

Some people think the names are just put there so that you know what the town is called...

IndiaNovember

Baaaah! So many things to know! I wonder if French people know all the rules... (most likely they do! :P )

Eurotrash, no offence taken - just realised my comment came across snappy, sorry about that! Just found this online http://www.code3000.net/tests-code-route.php - maybe I'll get revising!

dmu, yep we were definitely given a non-too-subtle hint that the wardens also agreed with the phrase "everyone should know the law"! And I think we were pretty lucky - we just happened to be going down the road when we saw our van being towed the other way on the back of the truck! (I'm sure we'll look back and laugh, when the 150€ sting cools :S )

smithyandlisa

I'm with dmu. Ignorance of the law is never a defence.

wetwang

Our guests on non French plates never pay their parking fines as apparently there is no mechanism for tracing drivers of parking offences.
I got a £60 ticket in Winchester a year ago on French plates and have heard nothing since.

Im_and_Er

There are many who don't know what these signs really mean do you ?

EuroTrash

As it happens I do know those ones - but every now and again I go to one of those sites where you can take a full-length French 'theory' test for free, I think I've tried 3 times now and I've never got anywhere near the pass mark Scarey really.

IndiaNovember

I know that one! Yey! Funny how many people don't seem to follow it though... Can make for a bit of entertainment when pulling out!