Snow chains now required

The new law to make snow tyres or snow chains compulsory in mountain areas of France from 1st November until 31st March is now in place, however the fine for non-compliance will not be enforced until the 2022 winter. The main aim is to reduce road accidents/ traffic jams in these areas & drivers of vehicles without snow tyres/ chains who are involved in a snow related accident or traffic jam will be liable to a 135€ fine. The law will apply in up to 48 departments of France that are in these designated mountain areas.

All the main mountain areas in mainland France are affected by the law - the Alpes, Massif Central, Jura, Pyrénées, and Vosges. The departments that are concerned are as follows:

Ain, Allier, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Cantal, Corrèze, Côte-d'Or, Creuse, Doubs, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Garonne, Hérault, l'Isère, Jura, Loire, Haute-Loire, Lot, Lozère, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, la Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Pyrénées-Orientales, Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Rhône, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, la Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Var, Vaucluse, Haute-Vienne, Vosges, l'Yonne, and the Territoire de Belfort.

Although some departments may apply the law to 100% of their roads, the majority will only apply the rules to a smaller percentage, the relevant roads will be indicated by the signs below: