# France by motorhome: tolls, Crit’Air, speed limits and where to stay

> Toll classes and free-flow payment, low-emission zones, the 3.5-tonne line, parking versus camping, gas bottles and what to check in October.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/eu-france-by-motorhome/

*By CampingSpirit Editors, 2026-10-09*

France is one of the easiest countries in Europe to cross in a motorhome: a dense motorway network, many small towns with a place set aside for campers, and a culture that treats the camping-car as a normal traveller. It is also a country where small details decide the cost and the comfort of a trip, namely the toll class, the weight of the vehicle and the difference between parking and camping. This article collects what we could confirm from official and operator sources, and marks everything else as something to check before you leave.

## Tolls: classes and payment

Most French motorways are toll roads (péage). The price depends on the vehicle class defined by the motorway association ASFA. According to its class table, class 1 is a two-axle vehicle up to 2 m high and up to 3.5 t gross weight; class 2 is two axles, between 2 m and 3 m high, up to 3.5 t; class 3 is a two-axle vehicle at 3 m or higher or above 3.5 t; class 4 has three or more axles with the same height or weight thresholds. The table says most camping-cars fall under class 1 and that those over 3 m high fall under a higher class. Because many motorhomes are higher than 2 m, check your height in the registration papers and ask at the booth if the barrier shows a class you do not expect.

Some motorways, among them the A14 since June 2024 and the A13 since December 2024 in Normandy and the Paris region, have no barrier at all (flux libre). You drive through and, according to Sanef, have 72 hours to pay online using your registration plate. If you miss it you receive a payment notice; paying within 15 days of its dispatch adds a 10-euro surcharge, after that the surcharge rises to 90 euros, and after about two months a fine of 375 euros follows. So the 90 euros is the surcharge, not the total owed. Whether a transponder badge (télépéage) from a foreign provider works on every French network, and what card payments cost at the booth, depends on the operator: check the current terms before you buy anything.

## Crit’Air and low-emission zones

Many French cities run low-emission zones (ZFE) that require a Crit’Air sticker, and the sticker applies to foreign vehicles too. According to press reports (LCP), on 21 May 2026 the Conseil constitutionnel struck out the abolition of the ZFE that Parliament had voted, as a legislative rider (cavalier législatif), so this law does not abolish the zones. How each metropolitan authority currently handles its zone should be checked with the city before the trip.

The picture is therefore patchy. Strasbourg excludes Crit’Air 4 and 5 and unclassified vehicles, with Crit’Air 3 allowed until 31 December 2026. Bordeaux (inside the Rocade, since 1 January 2025), Tours and Angers exclude only unclassified vehicles. Clermont-Ferrand bans only unclassified light commercial vehicles and trucks. For every other city the safe rule is to ask the metropolitan authority before the trip, order the sticker in good time, and park outside the zone if you are unsure; many travellers use a campsite or aire on the edge and take public transport in.

## Weight classes and speed limits

For motorhomes up to 3.5 t, and for combinations up to 3.5 t gross train weight, the car limits apply: 130 km/h on motorways, 110 on dual carriageways, 80 on other roads (or 90 where signed) and 50 in built-up areas. In rain the motorway limit drops to 110, dual carriageways to 100 and other roads stay at 80. Some départements, among them the Dordogne, the Cantal and the Puy-de-Dôme, have restored 90 km/h for cars on signed stretches, so follow the signs rather than the rule of thumb. Corsica stays at 80.

Above 3.5 t the limits are lower. According to a reply from the transport ministry in the Journal officiel (27 July 2021) and a motorway operator’s page that we opened, vehicles and combinations above 3.5 t are limited to 90 km/h on motorways. For other roads a secondary source gives 80 km/h, with exceptions depending on road type; the commonly quoted 110/100/80 for motorhomes above 3.5 t could not be confirmed, so we do not list it. If you are above this weight, check the current values in the Code de la route (art. R413-2) beforehand. A warning vest and a warning triangle are, according to a travel information source, compulsory equipment on board. Whether motorhomes above 3.5 t must additionally carry a speed disc and blind-spot stickers (angles morts), and what the fine is, we could not confirm from an official source: check beforehand.

## Where to sleep

In France a motorhome is a vehicle. By general account it may park wherever parking is allowed; a maximum stay (seven days in the same place is often quoted) and local municipal orders (arrêtés) could not be confirmed from an official source, so check with the commune beforehand. What it may not do outside a campsite or an aire is behave like a camp: levelling props, awning, table and chairs on the pavement, or emptying waste water all count as camping and are prohibited there. Sleeping in a parked vehicle without that behaviour is the grey zone most travellers rely on, and it is the first thing a mayor can restrict.

Wild camping can be forbidden in classified sites, near listed historic monuments (a 500 m radius is often quoted), near drinking-water sources and on the seashore, and national parks have their own rules in their core zones; we could not confirm the exact distances from an official source, so check beforehand. Blanket bans on a whole municipality are legally open to challenge (Biarritz in 2018 and 2019 is the usual example), but a sign at the village entrance is still reason enough to move on. The easy alternative is the aire de camping-car: a municipal or private site with a service point, often at a modest price, sometimes free. Opening dates, prices, water and the state of the service point vary by commune, so look at the operator’s listing and recent reviews before driving there. Grey water and toilet cassettes belong at a service point, never in a ditch.

## Gas and supplies

French exchange bottles of butane and propane are sold nearly everywhere, but foreign bottles are not exchanged. If your motorhome has a German, Italian or British bottle, the plan is either a refillable system or an adapter set for the national bottles, bought before the trip. Refuelling stations with LPG pumps for refillable tanks (adapter types such as Dish or Euronozzle) are thinly spread in some regions, so look at the map before a long stretch. On the motorway, a motorway operator advises closing the bottle valves while driving and switching off the water pump on long trips. Fuel is easiest to find on motorways and at supermarkets; a card payment machine that works at night is not guaranteed, so do not run the tank low.

## October on the road

In autumn the country is quieter and the light is good, but the infrastructure thins out. Many aires and campsites close or shut off water for the winter, with dates that differ by commune and operator, so call or check online before relying on a stop. Days shorten quickly, which makes late arrivals in unfamiliar villages less pleasant. In the south, storms and heavy rain can close roads and campsites at short notice, and in hunting season walking in woods deserves some care; ask locally for the dates. Fire warnings are less of an issue in autumn, but each département runs its own warning scale for forests, which you can read at risque-prevention-incendie.fr, so look before camping in woods in dry spells.

## Before you leave

Four checks cover most surprises: the height and weight on your papers against the toll and speed tables, the Crit’Air sticker and the zones on your route, a French bottle or adapter, and the opening dates of the aires you plan to use. Rules here change, and communes add local orders, so treat this article as a map of the questions and check the current wording with the authority or operator in question. Then drive slowly, shop in the markets, and let the aires set the pace.

## Sources

- [Classes de véhicules aux péages (ASFA, via Sanef)](https://www.autoroutes.sanef.com/sites/default/files/2023-02/ASFA_classes_vehicules_2022.pdf)
- [Speed limits in France (Service-Public)](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F19460?lang=en)
- [Camping-cars : sécurité sur autoroute (Vinci Autoroutes)](https://www.vinci-autoroutes.com/fr/conseils/securite/camping-cars-securite/)
- [Caravanes et remorques sur autoroute (Sanef)](https://www.autoroutes.sanef.com/fr/assistance/caravanes-remorques)
- [Autoroute en flux libre A13/A14 : dossier d’information (Sanef)](https://www.autoroutes.sanef.com/sites/default/files/2025-02/Dossier-info-24022025.pdf)
- [Question écrite et réponse sur la vitesse des ensembles > 3,5 t (Assemblée nationale, JO 27.07.2021)](https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/15/questions/QANR5L15QE12581.pdf)
- [ZFE : le Conseil constitutionnel censure la suppression (LCP)](https://lcp.fr/actualites/zfe-le-conseil-constitutionnel-censure-la-suppression-des-zones-a-faibles-emissions)
- [Réglementation camping-car (Wikicampers, source secondaire)](https://www.wikicampers.fr/blog/reglementation-camping-car/)