Was going to ask about this because I wasn’t sure winter tyres were enough, but then did a bit of googling and saw this article.
Question is how do you check your tyres for this:
" * From November 2024 onwards, only 3PMSF-certified tires will be accepted as an alternative to chains. Drivers using other types of winter tires must also carry chains to meet this requirement. Tires bearing the marking M+S (Mud + Snow) alone will no longer be accepted during the winter months in mountainous regions."
Our winter tyres are a few years old and of course bought in Switzerland so how can they be checked to make sure they’re okay for France? Just asking because we’re looking at going to the UK either late January or mid-February and usually go over the Jura mountains to Dole to pick up the motorway there. If we can’t do that we’ll have to go via Geneva and pick up the French motorway there.
IIRC all French departments bordering Switzerland have this requirement so detouring via Geneva won’t make a difference.
The Mountain II law applies to French mountainous regions, specifically the Alps, Corsica, Massif Central, Jura Massif, Pyrenees, and Vosges Massif. Within these regions, 48 departments are affected, but the specific municipalities where the law is enforced are determined by prefectural decrees. Signage at the entry and exit of these zones indicates where the law is applicable during the winter period (November 1 to March 31).
Also note that in poor conditions it’s not unheard-of for French gendarmes to deny access in certain conditions to vehicles not suitably equipped, and I’m aware of very recent examples of this, where even cars with proper winter tyres have been turned back. According to what I’ve read about these specific instances 4WD cars with winter tyres were being allowed through, but 2WD ones were required to fit their chains in order to continue.
This is not a new scenario, nothing to do with the aforementioned law, so just be aware that having winter tyres only is not 100% guaranteed to be deemed sufficient.
Well, luckily we’re 4 wheel drive. If it’s that bad we probably wouldn’t travel to start with. A few years ago we were in the UK for Christmas with the parents-in-law and when we came back we hit snow just past Reims. Police were ordering all lorries off the motorways into either rest areas or on to the hard shoulders so the snow ploughs could try and keep the roads clear for cars. There were kilometers and kilometers of trucks pulled over in some places. We did manage to get through, but obviously went down to Geneva rather than going over the Jura mountains. The Swiss weren’t as on the ball weather-wise. We weren’t long past the border when the sat-nav warned of an accident and we saw a car had slid on the road into the crash barrier.
When I went out the next day the front of the car was still covered in frozen snow and ice that had been driven against it.
The French set up the requirement for 3PMSF-certified tires two years ago but waived fines for the first year. M+S (mud and snow) tires no longer suffice. This year, in principle you do risk a fine of 135 euros for not having the right tires. As Ace said, in any case the gendarmerie will close roads to vehicles they deem insufficiently equipped if it gets serious. It’s the usual difference in philosophy with the Swiss emphasis on individual responsibility. https://www.watson.ch/fr/international/france/838029491-pneus-neige-obligatoires-en-france-des-le-1er-novembre-2024
In most any case, with one pair of chains and 3PMSF-certified tires you would be allowed anywhere. If not, it’s definitely not the time to travel.
And if you don’t have the right tires: There is a small sliver of Swiss-French border around Basel where you don’t need 3PMSF-certified tires. See the map at the link above.
Safe driving!
He doesn’t have to chuck them out, he just needs to avoid using the regions requiring them between those dates.
If Chuck lives in those areas or travels to them frequently I would imagine he would have been sensible and bought the appropriate tyres in the first place.
It is a very German blanket ban effective from October 2024. Chuck bought them in August when Nobody know what was coming, Brand new And now Chuck has to Chuck them.
I would be having words with the Shop.
Caveat Emptor. The French rules were implemented, albeit not enforced, several years ago. Your friend Chuck, if he’s bought non-3PMSF tyres, has clearly and simply not bought winter tyres.
He’d only have a case against whoever sold them if he can clearly show that he asked for winter tyres, cos that’s not what he’s got. These days it’s really quite clear, if it’s not got the 3PMSF mark it’s not a winter tyre, full stop.
The M+S mark was never an indication of any sort of cold weather capabilities - when I bought my LR Defender it had some such fitted, also labelled as “light truck”. It had been used as a forestry vehicle so these chunky tyres would have been good for woodland trails, but in winter they were absolutely useless.
