From Monday, November 1, snow chains or snow tires, or winter tires, are compulsory for driving in mountain areas. This obligation is valid in 48 departments but the Interior Ministry has let it be known that there will be no sanction this winter and that “Information and educational operations will accompany the implementation of this system in the coming weeks”.
The key words are therefore information and pedagogy everywhere in France this winter. Except in one town, Gérardmer in the Vosges, where the mayor has issued a municipal decree to sanction those who will not be equipped this year. Stessy Speissman has a hard time understanding this tolerance for motorists who will not have the equipment this winter. Especially since the decree was published more than a year ago. “I do not understand that it is not made operational immediately. When there was the passage to 80 km / h, when there was the compulsory seat belt, for example, we did not give tolerance . And overnight we were forced to apply these measures “, he judges.
From today, all those who will go to Gérardmer will have to equip their vehicle with snow tires or have snow chains or socks in the trunk, under penalty of being penalized. “It is a question of road safety. We are fed up with seeing our roads blocked by unequipped cars, by camper vans or by trucks which will get in the way, block our passes, block the main axes and damage the economy “, indignant Stessy Speissman.
From today until March 31, your vehicle must be equipped in the mountains with winter tires or have snow chains / socks ⛓️
The key word this year is: pedagogy. We are counting on you for a @RoutePlusSure.
https://t.co/H7plOcSQz1 pic.twitter.com/SCBagAiTBF
– Ministry of Territories & Communities (@Territoire_Gouv) November 1, 2021
The fine if you do not have snow tires ((marked “M + S”, “MS” or “M&S”) or “removable anti-slip devices” may be notified by the gendarmes or the municipal police. It is 35 euros but next year, the law will come into full force and it provides for a fine of 135 euros and the possible immobilization of the vehicle.
In some departments of mountain ranges (Alps, Corsica, Massif Central, Jura, Pyrenees, Vosges), the obligation will apply to the whole territory. This is the case in Cantal, Haute-Loire, Haute-Savoie or Puy-de-Dôme. In other departments, only certain municipalities are concerned, and sometimes only on part of the road network. It will therefore be necessary to rely on the new sign panels which will indicate the entry and exit of the area where the equipment obligations apply.
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