WHAT IS CRIT'AIR?

A GUIDE TO THE STICKER YOU'LL NEED IN FRANCE

- Tom Jervis

Introduced in 2017, Crit’Air stickers are used to show officials how polluting (or not) your car is - and are essential for UK motorists

FOR years it’s been common knowledge that, if you want to drive your car in Europe, you need to display a ‘UK’ (previously ‘GB’) sticker on the back of your car so authorities can easily identify you as a foreign driver.

Now, drivers travelling to France need to contend with another sticker which, rather than marking you out as an international visitor, has the purpose of identifying your vehicle's emissions levels.

The sticker comes as part of France's Crit’Air programme, which has been designed to improve air quality in a host of cities by limiting access for the most polluting of vehicles.

Sounds complicated? It is rather. With this in mind, we've compiled a guide to answer all the key questions you might have about this topic. And if you're looking for further guidance when getting behind the wheel on your holiday, we have an additional page dedicated to tips for driving abroad, as well as a full breakdown on holiday car hire.

WHAT IS A CRIT'AIR STICKER?

A Crit’Air sticker, also known as a vignette, is an identifier used in France to help authorities ascertain the emissions level of your particular vehicle.

It is intended to be affixed to the inside windscreen of your car, much like an old-fashioned tax disc, and lasts for the entire lifetime of the vehicle.

There are six types of Crit’Air sticker, with each incremental step representing a specific group of vehicles, ranging from the greenest and cleanest (EVs, for example) to the most polluting (Euro 2 diesels), based on the Euro emissions standard.

WHY HAS CRIT'AIR BEEN INTRODUCED?