Motorhome rules in France 2026: Crit'Air, tolls, fines

France's low-emission zones (ZFE) ban some vehicles according to their Crit'Air sticker, foreign-registered vehicles included. The sticker is ordered only on certificat-air.gouv.fr, the one official site: €3.85 including postage for delivery in France (Service-Public price checked on 1 January 2026), slightly more for delivery abroad. Other websites sell the same sticker for much more — the French ministry warns about them itself. It comes by post, so order it before you leave, then stick it on the lower right of the windscreen. It stays valid as long as it is readable.

The class depends on the fuel and the Euro standard shown on your registration document:

• • Petrol — Euro 5 and 6 (from 2011): Crit'Air 1 · Euro 4 (2006-2010): Crit'Air 2 · Euro 2 and 3 (1997-2005): Crit'Air 3.
• • Diesel — Euro 5 and 6 (from 2011): Crit'Air 2 · Euro 4 (2006-2010): Crit'Air 3 · Euro 3 (2001-2005): Crit'Air 4.
• • Over 3.5 t, the classification may follow the heavy-vehicle scale: the official site gives the exact class from your registration document.

Where fines are actually issued in 2026:

• • Lyon — Crit'Air 3 banned every day, all day, parking included; fines since 1 July 2026.
• • Greater Paris (77 municipalities inside the A86 ring road) — Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 banned Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm for light vehicles; until 31 December 2026 checks remain informational.
• • Grenoble — Crit'Air 3 targeted, fines postponed to 30 June 2027.
• • Other zones (Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse, Montpellier…) run their own timetables, often limited to Crit'Air 4 and above: check the city before you drive in.

During a pollution peak, the prefect can impose differentiated traffic in any urban area: only some stickers may drive. The fine is €68 for a light vehicle and €135 for heavy vehicles, buses and coaches. On 21 May 2026 France's Constitutional Council struck down the repeal of the low-emission zones voted by Parliament: they remain in force, but their timetables keep moving.

Driving on to Germany? Its low-emission zones (Umweltzonen) require their own sticker, the German green sticker (Umweltplakette).

The toll class depends on overall height, maximum authorised mass and number of axles:

• • Class 1 — height up to 2 m and mass up to 3.5 t: car, small van.
• • Class 2 — height between 2 and 3 m and mass up to 3.5 t: most camper vans and motorhomes.
• • Class 3 — height of 3 m or more, or mass over 3.5 t, two axles.
• • Class 4 — same thresholds, three axles or more.

Class 3 costs noticeably more than class 2, and the measured height counts — roof box and air conditioner included.

Free-flow tolls: on the A13 and A14 (Paris–Normandy) and the A79 (Allier, between Moulins and Digoin) there are no barriers any more. Gantries read your number plate. Without a toll tag you have 72 hours to pay online on the operator's website (SANEF for the A13 and A14, ALIAE for the A79) or at a partner tobacconist. After that come fees, then a fine of around €90 — and foreign plates are traced through agreements between countries. The simplest habit: pay the same evening from your phone.

Up to 3.5 t, a motorhome follows car limits: 130 km/h on motorways (110 in rain), 110 on dual carriageways (100 in rain), 80 on other roads — 90 on some signed sections —, 50 in towns, and more and more often 30.

Above 3.5 t the limits drop: 110 km/h on motorways, 100 on dual carriageways, 80 on roads, 50 in towns, even where a sign allows cars 70. It is the most common mistake made by heavy motorhomes, and speed cameras record it like any other.

Radar detectors are illegal: fines up to €1,500 and confiscation of the device. GPS apps that flag "danger zones" remain legal.

• • High-visibility vest and warning triangle — mandatory and within reach. Put the vest on before stepping onto the road in an emergency stop, or face a €135 fine.
• • Breathalyser — no fine any more if you do not carry one, despite what many guides still say. The limit stays at 0.5 g/l of blood (0.2 g/l for novice drivers and public-transport drivers).
• • "Blind spot" stickers — mandatory since 2021 on vehicles over 3.5 t, motorhomes included: three stickers, one on each side and one at the rear. Fine: €135.
• • Crit'Air sticker — lower right of the windscreen, visible from outside, as soon as you enter a zone that requires it.

From 1 November to 31 March, in mountain municipalities designated by the prefects of 34 departments (Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Vosges, Corsica), every vehicle — motorhomes included — must have winter tyres marked 3PMSF, or carry chains or snow socks for two driving wheels. The M+S marking alone has not been enough since winter 2024-2025. Signs mark where the zones begin and end. Above 3.5 t the obligation is heavier: winter tyres on two steering and two driving wheels, or chains on two driving wheels.

As for penalties, the government stated on 12 February 2026 that the decree setting the fine (€135) had not yet been published: check before winter 2026-2027. Whatever happens to that decree, a B26 "special equipment compulsory" sign makes chains or equipment mandatory on the section it covers, whenever it is displayed.

At a roadside check, a driver without a home in France must pay an immediate deposit; otherwise the vehicle can be held, then impounded at the owner's cost. Offences recorded by cameras — speeding, red lights — are sent to your home country, in your language, by France's ANTAI agency through the European exchange of vehicle data. An unpaid free-flow toll follows the same route.

Parking and wild camping follow other rules with their own fines: they are covered in our legal guide to camper van parking in France.

Facts checked on 26 September 2026. Low-emission zones and the mountain law change often: read these pages before a long trip.

• • Service-Public — Crit'Air sticker (price, official site, fines)
• • Ministère de la Transition écologique — certificats qualité de l'air Crit'Air
• • Métropole du Grand Paris — zone à faibles émissions
• • Banque des Territoires — décision du Conseil constitutionnel du 21 mai 2026 sur les ZFE
• • VINCI Autoroutes — classes de véhicules au péage
• • SANEF — free-flow tolls (A13, A14)
• • FFCC — vitesses des camping-cars de plus de 3,5 t
• • Sénat — réponse du gouvernement sur les sanctions de la loi Montagne (12 février 2026)
• • Justice.fr — amendes d'un conducteur étranger en France
• • Justice.fr — équipements obligatoires, éthylotest, avertisseurs de radars
• • 35. BImSchV (Allemagne) — plaques Umweltplakette et Umweltzonen, vérifié le 14 octobre 2026