What changes in France this Saturday?

People wanting to drive in Paris, Lille, Grenoble or Lyon (or nearby Villeurbanne) will need Crit’air stickers on their car by this weekend – just one of several changes set to come on Saturday July 1.

Other changes relate to matters like motorbike and scooter number plates, claiming French pensions and diagnostic check certificates for renting out property.

Crit’Air

It will now be obligatory in certain cities to have one of the these labels on your vehicle, which indicates its environmental category according to a number and/or colour code from green (for non-polluting electric cars) to grey/5 (for diesel cars registered between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2000).

The sticker categories may be used to restrict access to cities at certain times. In Paris, for example, cars labelled 5, and those too old to have a label, are banned from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 20.00.

Not displaying a sticker can mean a €68 fine. You can order them here: https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/

New diagnostics

Owners of rental properties with gas and electrical systems over 15 years old in co-propriété buildings (ie. flats with shared communal areas) built before 1975 need to supply a diagnostic check certificate when signing new rental contracts with a tenant. The measure is to be extended to all rental contracts from January 2018.

Once issued, gas and electricity certificates will be valid for six years.

Number plates

All motorbikes, scooters and other two or three-wheeled vehicles or quad bikes are now meant be equipped with the same kind of number plate.

The plates are 210mm by 130mm, a size which formerly only applied to some larger scooters and to motorbikes.

Previously there were five different possible sizes of plate ranging from a small one used on mopeds to two large ones used on quads and trikes. Scooters (above 50cc) and motorbikes previously could use one of two kinds of intermediate size – if yours was registered since July 2015 it should already have the new regulation size.

It is possible to be fined €135 for having the wrong plate.

Acoustic insulation

Owners of homes in areas especially exposed to outside noise, such as from a road, railway or airport, now have to incorporate some sound insulation work if they are doing ‘major’ renovations such as a complete overhaul of the property’s energy efficiency, replacing the roof or renovating the façade.

The rule does not applied to listed historic buildings if the work would change their character or architectural quality.

French pensions

People who have paid into several French pension schemes, such as RSI, the régime agricole and the régime général may now benefit from a simplified procedure so as to claim their pensions in one go, as opposed to claiming via multiple bodies.

The correct procedure will, with a few exceptions, be to simply claim once via the body you last paid into or otherwise the one which provides your healthcare cover.