# Emissions Category stickers on cars/limitations on driving in city centers - specifically Rouen - help!



## BarbTF

I have all of my housing reserved for my time in France except Rouen, where I want to stay for one night. What's holding me back on getting that night reserved is my reading about the new system (sorry, forget the actual official term used for it) designed to keep high-emissions cars out of city centers of the larger French cities.

As I understand it, Rouen is one of those cities and this system is in effect now.

I will have a rental car that I'm picking up in Brussels, and I have no idea if it will have one of these emissions category stickers on it but, since it is from Belgium, I suspect it won't. And even if it does, I won't know what the sticker says until I get the car so it's no help when reserving a room now.

Do you all have any suggestions of where I might find a map that shows the boundaries of this emissions-limited zone in Rouen along with public transport stops/routes? I'd like to be sure that any hotel or AirBnB I reserve is outside that zone (as well as has convenient public transportation to the center of Rouen so I can get there to sightsee, unless it is close enough to walk but even then in case the weather is rainy I'd still rather have public transport available.)

Or, if I have misunderstood something about how this system works, please correct me.

Thanks so much for any assistance. I need to get this all figured out in the next few days before I leave on my cruise as the cruise line has warned us that internet is likely to be very poor on the voyage (they've even refunded everyone who pre-paid for internet service onboard, so it MUST be serious!)


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## BackinFrance

CARTE. Vignettes Crit'Air : voici qui pourra rouler et où dans la métropole de Rouen


La métropole de Rouen a voté, ce lundi 14 décembre, la création de sa "zone à faibles émissions" (ZFE). Des premières vignettes Crit'Air permettront à certains véhicules seulement de circuler dans le centre-ville de Rouen,...




france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr





Scroll down for the communes that have now been added.

HTH


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## BackinFrance

Zone à Faibles Émissions mobilité


Mieux respirer au sein de la Métropole Rouen Normandie, un objectif partagé L’air est un bien indispensable à tous, c’est pourquoi il nous faut tout faire pour le préserver. Selon une étude de Santé Publique France, la pollution de l’air est responsable d’environ 2 600 décès prématurés en Normandie.




www.metropole-rouen-normandie.fr





This explains it better and it appears it doesn't apply to ordinary passenger cars, though I haven't read it in detail.


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## BarbTF

Thank you! You are right, that second article says private vehicles are not affected until September 2022. Assuming a rental car is considered a private vehicle...I wonder if there is a way to verify that easily.


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## BackinFrance

A rental car is a private vehicle unless it fits into the other categories, so if you are renting a normal passenger car, as I am sure you are, you will have no issues. But if you are renting eg a utility or ute or whatever Americans call it, then you will need to stay outside the Crit'Air zone. Still, if this is going to make you unduly anxious, you can choose to stay outside the zone, after all you will only be there one night.

Best of luck.


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## Lydi

I don't think you'll have any problems at all with your rental car. They are usually very recent.
It's Crit'Air3 vehicles which you won't be able to drive in city centres from September 2022. 
These are cars that were first put on the road before 2010 (diesel) or 2005 (petrol).
See the details on the chart on this page.


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## BarbTF

Thanks Lydi, that helps! I was concerned because I had read a post from someone (I think it was a review on AIrBnB for one of the Rouen offerings, but it might have been a review one of the hotels) saying they were unable to bring their car into the city center where the lodging was located because it didn't have a sticker on it. My conclusion from that post was that the sticker was needed regardless of when the car was manufactured or what number it would have been assigned based on the rules for the system.

But maybe I misunderstood the post or the poster misunderstood the rules themselves.


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## BackinFrance

I would go so far as to say that the rules in Rouen are not very strict at all, at least not Pyrenees compared with my town here at the foot of the Pyrénées, where rules can change each day depending on the pollution level. 

I can't imagine that you would be renting such an old car


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## BarbTF

Thanks again to you both. I have reserved a hotel and hopefully I will be able to drive my car to it without problems! If all else fails I located a map of public parking lots (what we would call "Park and Ride" here in the US) near outlying tram/train stations where I would be able to park and then take the train into town.


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## BackinFrance

Where there's a will there's a way


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## Bevdeforges

The deadlines on those Crit'Air certificates have changed a couple of times lately. We just recently jumped through the hoops to get a Crit'Air sticker for my hybrid in order to be able to drive through Paris en route to Lille for a family funeral. (But ultimately we didn't go because we found out the deceased had died of Covid and we didn't think it wise to gather in a large gathering like that.)

But in the course of my researching the Crit'Air stuff I found that Belgium has the same Crit'Air system which, I think, uses the same numbering system for the categories. (It seems to be a European wide system.) I would expect that a rental car picked up in Belgium should have a valid Crit'Air sticker in any event. (But do let us know after your arrival.) Generally speaking, the "low emission zones" will permit vehicles with categories 0, 1 or 2 even during "peak pollution" times. And not to worry, the issuance of the sticker takes into account when the vehicle was first placed in service and all that good stuff since the registration is based on the car's vehicle identification number.


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## EuroTrash

Lydi said:


> I don't think you'll have any problems at all with your rental car. They are usually very recent.


But you still have to have a sticker don't you? 
So it is in interesting question. How does it work for a foreign hire car, will the hirers provide the sticker if you tell them you will be driving in France.


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## BackinFrance

Vignette Crit'Air 2023 : réglementation et sanction


La vignette Crit'Air est obligatoire pour circuler dans certaines villes, notamment à Paris, sans risque d'amende. Le point sur la réglementation liée à ces vignettes de couleur.




droit-finances.commentcamarche.com





Not in Rouen for a recent passenger vehicle.


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## EuroTrash

BackinFrance said:


> Vignette Crit'Air 2023 : réglementation et sanction
> 
> 
> La vignette Crit'Air est obligatoire pour circuler dans certaines villes, notamment à Paris, sans risque d'amende. Le point sur la réglementation liée à ces vignettes de couleur.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> droit-finances.commentcamarche.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not in Rouen for a recent passenger vehicle.


No not in Rouen at the moment, but my point was that if I've understood the scheme correctly, it's not a case of certain zones require a sticker for an older vehicle but not for a recent one. Depending on what category sticker the vehicle has, it either can or cannot enter the zone, but no vehicle can enter the zone without a sticker. 
I just wanted to check if I have got that right because people seem to be suggesting otherwise.


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## Bevdeforges

Take a look at this: La vignette Crit'Air et la Belgique

The Belgian Crit'Air sticker is identical to the French one and while not obligatory in Belgium, they are acceptable in France. For "foreign" vehicles you seem to be able to order your Crit'Air certificate from the French site (at least according to the Germans). And I see on several other sites that you don't even have to be an EU resident to order a sticker for your vehicle. Looks to me like the cost is a little bit elevated (5.99€ vs. 4.30€) but they're good for the life of the vehicle. 









The Crit’Air anti-pollution vehicle sticker


Information about the Crit’Air anti-pollution vehicle sticker and how to order it from the UK before you travel to France



uk.france.fr


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## BackinFrance

EuroTrash said:


> No not in Rouen at the moment, but my point was that if I've understood the scheme correctly, it's not a case of certain zones require a sticker for an older vehicle but not for a recent one. Depending on what category sticker the vehicle has, it either can or cannot enter the zone, but no vehicle can enter the zone without a sticker.
> I just wanted to check if I have got that right because people seem to be suggesting otherwise.


No idea what you are trying to say.


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## EuroTrash

BackinFrance said:


> No idea what you are trying to say.


No neither have I. Another senior moment. Ignore me


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## suein56

EuroTrash said:


> No neither have I. Another senior moment. Ignore me


There's no hope for me then as I understood exactly what you said


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## Lydi

EuroTrash said:


> But you still have to have a sticker don't you?


Yes!
Sorry, I wasn't clear about that.
From what I've read, Crit'Air exists in Belgium but isn't compulsory there yet.
It would probably be wise to check in advance with the car hire firm that their cars are equipped with stickers.
I should imagine that is the case (many travellers arriving at Brussels airport will be heading for France like Barb).
And the stickers are cheap and easy to obtain...


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## Bevdeforges

Lydi said:


> I should imagine that is the case (many travellers arriving at Brussels airport will be heading for France like Barb).


When I mentioned this thread to my (French) husband, his first reaction was that you can't take a Belgian rental car into France - though I suspect that's what the situation was back before all the EU changes. (DH is from the Lille area, but hasn't lived there in a few decades.) Still, it wouldn't hurt to check with the rental company.

Info on the Crit'Air restrictions in Lille acknowledges that those coming to Lille from Belgium do have to have their stickers and that the Belgian stickers are valid in Lille. So I would be really surprised if the Belgian rental companies aren't simply putting stickers on all the cars in their fleets. For ET's purposes, yes, you will need to have a sticker on your camper - but the category assigned is based on the vehicle i.d. number and listed engine type, size and initial in-service date. But check the many maps you can find online that will show you which towns and areas have Crit'Air sticker requirements.


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## EuroTrash

Bevdeforges said:


> For ET's purposes, yes, you will need to have a sticker on your camper


I can't actually get a sticker for my camper. I tried last year but apparently it's too polluting, or too old, I forget what the problem was exactly but too something.


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## Bevdeforges

EuroTrash said:


> I can't actually get a sticker for my camper. I tried last year but apparently it's too polluting, or too old, I forget what the problem was exactly but too something.


I thought I remembered you saying something about your camper a while ago. I'd suggest going to the site I referenced above - maybe the English language one - and make sure you apply through the section for whichever country your camper is currently registered in. I see there is also something about declaring any "retrofit" that may have been done to your vehicle - and waiting for that to clear before you apply for the certificate. Perhaps that was the case for your camper?


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## BarbTF

Bevdeforges said:


> When I mentioned this thread to my (French) husband, his first reaction was that you can't take a Belgian rental car into France - though I suspect that's what the situation was back before all the EU changes. (DH is from the Lille area, but hasn't lived there in a few decades.) Still, it wouldn't hurt to check with the rental company.


I haven't spoken with an actual human being about it--who does that anymore?  But the info on the rental website says it can be taken into all EU countries (or something to that effect, but definitely including France) so I wasn't worried about it. I will ask the human when I go to pick it up to be sure but it will put a big damper on my plans if I can't take it to France!


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## Bevdeforges

BarbTF said:


> I will ask the human when I go to pick it up to be sure but it will put a big damper on my plans if I can't take it to France!


As I think I mentioned, it has been a LONG time since my DH has rented a car anywhere in France or in Europe and I strongly suspect he is still thinking of the pre-EU rules. I wouldn't worry about it - just confirm that you have a Crit'Air sticker in whatever car you get when you pick it up. I would expect that you do - and then just note the number (probably a 1 or a 2).


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## BackinFrance

BarbTF said:


> I haven't spoken with an actual human being about it--who does that anymore?  But the info on the rental website says it can be taken into all EU countries (or something to that effect, but definitely including France) so I wasn't worried about it. I will ask the human when I go to pick it up to be sure but it will put a big damper on my plans if I can't take it to France!


Really Barb you would do well not to take some of the posts here to heart, especially given the limited requirements in Rouen and the fact that your itinerary does not include places where the Crit'Air regulations are rigid anyway. And your rental car will be fine for France,though some car rental firms are better than others.

Just enjoy your trip.


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## BackinFrance

And I know for a fact that you can travel to France in a Belgian rental car!


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## EuroTrash

Bevdeforges said:


> Perhaps that was the case for your camper?


No I just checked again and the message is
"Votre véhicule est trop ancien et ne répond pas aux critères retenus pour l'attribution d'un certificat qualité de l'air (il est par conséquent trop émetteur de polluants). Nous ne pouvons donner suite à votre demande."
The nuisance is that if it were on French plates, being over 30 years old it would (assuming it could be registered) qualify as a historic vehicle and so be exempt from ,crit'air, subject to certain restrictions, but being under 40 years it can't be registered as a classic in the UK. It's not a problem because I don't often want to drive it into a city, but going through Rouen is actually the shortest route between home and the ferry port - during the day I go a different way but I generally go through Rouen if I'm travelling overnight when there's no traffic. 

@BarbTF I am sure you will not have a problem. Very few EU car rental firms fuss about you crossing EU borders, they assume that many customers will do that. It used to be common for Brits to rent a vehicle in France and travel to the UK.


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## Bevdeforges

Ooh, that does put you in a tight spot. Though in towns other than Paris I'm not sure you actually need a sticker - except if you are passing through the restricted zone on a day where there is a peak pollution event posted. But I also just found that any vehicle first registered before January 1, 1997 cannot get any sort of Crit'Air certificate.

For anyone who is interested, Bison Futé has an interactive map supposed to show the areas where the Crit'Air stickers are required (as well as the hours), though I have found their map a little difficult to follow. Still, maybe you'll have better luck with this:





Trafic - Zones à faibles émissions mobilité (ZFE-m) - Bison Futé







www.bison-fute.gouv.fr


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