UK holidaymakers warned over £150 emissions sticker fine in France

dailyrecord.co.uk:

British holidaymakers travelling to certain parts of France this summer have been warned to purchase a sticker for their car, or risk a fine.The RAC has said that those who do not buy a windscreen emissions sticker could have to pay £150, due to a specific French law.The motoring services company has noted that there are certain areas across France that require drivers to display a Crit’Air sticker on their windscreen.Last month, Bordeaux and Clermont-Ferrand were added to the areas in France with this law, with 12 cities now requiring the emissions sticker.Those who fail to comply will face an initial fine of £58 (68 euros), which can rise to £154 (180 euros) if not paid within 45 days.Fines will then increase to £640 (750 euros) in 2024, when French officials introduce cameras to enforce the rule.Crit’Air stickers cannot be bought locally, and must be bought in advance of your trip from the French government website.

The sticker costs around £4 (4.61 euros) to buy, and is stuck to your windscreen if you are planning to drive solo or with your family in the country.The RAC has also warned drivers to be wary of third-party websites who are planning to scam people out of as much as six times the worth of the sticker.There are six different types of sticker, each of which are based on a vehicles air pollutant emissions.The cars with the cleanest emissions will require a green '0' sticker, with the worst offending polluting vehicles handed the black '5' stickers.The other stickers are the purple '1' sticker, for gas and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the yellow '2' sticker for Euro 4 petrol cars and Euro 5 petrol trucks, and orange '3' stickers for Euro 2 and 3 petrol cars.The brown '4' sticker is for Euro 3 diesel cars and Euro