Winter tyres mandatory in more countries
From 1 November 2021, new rules for winter tyres come into force in France: in mountainous departments, you must have snow chains or socks in your boot, even if you are only passing through.
As in Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, winter tyres are mandatory in large parts of France from 1 November. If you do not, you must have snow chains or snow socks in your boot.
The rules also apply when you are passing through one of the many municipalities in the mountainous departments of France. The rules apply from 1 November to 31 March. Foreign drivers are not exempt from the rule.
To be precise, you must fit tyres with the M+S (Mud and Snow) logo, or carry at least two chains or two tyre socks in the boot. Real’ winter tyres, i.e. tyres with the symbol 3PMSF (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake – three mountains and a snowflake) are not compulsory.
Practically all winter and all-season tyres that Inter-Sprint sells in Europe carry the 3PMSF symbol, which is more than enough to meet the strictest requirements.
The obligation will be indicated by a new sign at the entrance of the relevant area:
List of « mountainous » areas
01 – Ain, 03 – Allier, 04 – Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 05 – Hautes-Alpes, 06 – Alpes-Maritimes, 07 – Ardèche, 09 – Ariège, 11 – Aude, 12 – Aveyron, 15 – Cantal, 2A – Corse-du-Sud, 2B – Haute-Corse, 21 – Côte-d’Or, 23 – Creuse, 25 – Doubs, 26 – Drôme, 30 – Gard, 31 – Haute-Garonne, 34 – Hérault, 38 – Isère, 39 – Jura, 42 – Loire, 43 – Haute-Loire, 46 – Lot, 48 – Lozère, 54 – Meurthe-et-Moselle, 57 – Moselle, 58 – Nièvre, 63 – Puy-de-Dôme, 64 – Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 65 – Hautes-Pyrénées, 66 – Pyrénées-Orientales, 67 – Bas-Rhin, 68 – Haut-Rhin, 69 – Rhône, 70 – Haute-Saône, 71 – Saône-et-Loire, 73 – Savoie, 74 – Haute-Savoie, 81 – Tarn, 82 – Tarn-et-Garonne, 83 – Var, 84 – Vaucluse, 87 – Haute-Vienne, 88 – Vosges, 89 – Yonne, 90 – Territoire de Belfort.
Source: Autogids
