Fees to recover impounded cars rising today
The fees for getting your car back if it is impounded by police in France are rising, with the cost in Paris higher than anywhere else in the country.
From September 6 (today), the fees for picking up an impounded vehicle (towed away; in French - "mise en fourrière") - whether a normal car, a motorbike or a van - have risen compared to their existing cost, and are now at €117,50 for a normal car, compared to €116,81 before.
In Paris, the cost is now as high as €150 for a collection, and each day that your vehicle is impounded without your collecting it has risen in cost by €6,23 to reach €29 for every 24 hours.
In France, police have the right to impound your vehicle if it is obstructing traffic; parked in a dangerous, annoying or irregular manner (such as on a pavement or in front of a garage in regular use); or if you are unable to provide the right documents for the car and for your own driving license when asked.
Fees for recovering your vehicle are usually revised every year, but this did not happen in 2016, hence the relatively significant jumps in cost for 2017.
Prices vary depending on the vehicle type - from a scooter right up to a large lorry - and towns with over 400 000 inhabitants, such as Lyon and Marseille - who impound up to 15 000 cars per year - also have their own fee levels.
If you suspect your car has been impounded by police - rather than stolen - you can check with the municipal police or your local gendarmerie to confirm this, and begin the process of getting your car back.
A list of impounded vehicles can be found online at service-public.fr, where you can type in the post code of the last place you saw your car, and check if it is on the list.
You can verify that the vehicle in question belongs to you over the phone, or, if you live in Paris or in Nantes, you can do it online, as long as your car is registered in France.
Cars with license plates from outside France can only be checked over the phone.
If you catch the police in the middle of taking your car away, you may be able to take the car away there and then, as long as all four of its wheels are still on the ground when you arrive.
You must also be able to move it away from the offending situation immediately - for example, park it where it will not cause any further problems.
If the breakdown truck has already arrived on the scene when you catch them, you may still be able to drive away with your car there and then, but you will almost certainly need to pay a significant fee to do so.
