Driving in France: The 11 cities that have low-emission zones

It's increasingly common across Europe for larger towns and cities to have restrictions in place on vehicles due to concerns about emissions levels.

In France these are known as ZFE-m, or Zones à faibles émissions mobilité and if you intend to enter one of these, you need to do some forward planning.

The current ZFE-m towns are;

• Paris and its inner suburbs
• Lyon
• Aix-Marseille
• Toulouse
• Nice
• Montpellier
• Strasbourg
• Grenoble
• Rouen
• Reims
• Saint-Etienne

There are plans to expand the zones, with 43 towns and cities expected to have ZFE-ms by 2025.

Some small towns have already also opted to have a ZFE - which means that at most times of the year vehicles are not restricted, but local authorities have the power to restrict vehicles on days when pollution levels are high (which are most common during the summer) - find the full list here.

So what does it mean to drive in a ZFE-m?

The first thing is that your car must be displaying the vehicle emissions sticker known as Crit'Air, which shows how polluting it is on a scale of 0 the least polluting) to 5. These stickers must be ordered in advance, and they are also required for non-French registered cars.

You can find full details and how to order them here.

Traffic restrictions are also decided based on the Crit'Air number of your car, but vary slightly on a local level.

Most ZFE-ms have banned Crit'Air 4 and 5 vehicles from the city centre - these are the oldest, most polluting vehicles - while some have also barred Crit'Air 3, which includes diesel vehicles dated from 2006 to 2011. 

Some also have restrictions on when certain vehicles can enter, for example only allowing older vehicles at weekends or in the evening.

There are also temporary restrictions that are put in place when pollution spikes - for example in Paris Crit'Air 3 vehicles are banned on high-pollution days.

When you are entering a Crit'Air restriction zone, you will see signs like this - telling you that vehicles are banned, with the exception of those displaying a Crit'Air 0, 1, 2 or 3 sticker.

These inform you that the Crit'Air zone is starting, and which vehicles are allowed.

You will also likely see signs on motorway matrix boards about Crit'Air restrictions, especially the temporary ones which are enacted during pollution spikes.

If you are renting a car in France, it ought to come with a Crit'Air sticker. However, if you rent a car outside of France and plan to drive it into the country then you may have to request a sticker as it is unlikely to come with the proper labelling. Be sure to check with the rental agency prior to travel.

Penalties

Unlike some countries' emissions zones policy - for example ULEZ in London - it's not a question of paying fees to bring your vehicle into the city centre, it's simply banned for certain vehicle types.

Failure to respect Crit'Air rules can lead to a €68 fine. At present enforcement is patchy and most depends on police traffic stops.

However from the second half of 2024, camera enforcement will be rolled out, making it much more likely that vehicles without the correct sticker will be flagged and fine. The fines will also rise to a maximum of €750. 

If you live in a ZFE-m you are entitled to an extra €1,000 on top of the mean-tested scrappage bonus that is intended to help drivers trade in older, more polluting vehicles for newer models.