When driving through Europe, it’s almost unavoidable: tolls! Many countries charge tolls on major transit roads or require a vignette. In addition, an environmental sticker is required in many German cities: Toll overview abroad, Environmental sticker for German city centres and Environmental zones/sticker in France
Also pay attention to environmental zones in France and city centres in Germany What about environmental zones in France, where do you need an environmental sticker?
Under new legislation (Crit’Air), French cities and departments can establish environmental zones. There are two types of environmental zones:
- A permanent environmental zone (Zone à Circulation Restreinte, ZCR). You are only allowed to enter with a valid environmental sticker (Crit’Air vignette). Example: the city center of Paris. A permanent zone applies year-round, but may be limited to certain times, for example weekdays from 8:00 to 20:00. Outside these hours, there is no environmental zone and vehicles without a sticker are allowed access, unless a temporary environmental zone has been introduced. (See also the detailed information below about Paris.)
- A temporary environmental zone (Zone de protection de l’air, ZPA). A valid environmental sticker is only required here in case of (prolonged) extreme air pollution (pollution peak). If there is no extreme air pollution, you can enter this zone without a sticker.
There are six different stickers: green (0), purple (1), yellow (2), orange (3), red (4), and grey (5). Which sticker you need depends on the type of vehicle (car, motorcycle, moped, etc.), the level of CO2 emissions (Euro standard), and the age of the vehicle. Read here more about these French environmental zones and the required stickers. Also view here for information about the environmental sticker for German city centres.