Be careful if you wild camp in France (1 Viewer)

Parcverger

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Aug 13, 2007
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I know that most Funsters use aires or campsites when travelling in France, so this is unlikely to affect members, but it is worth mentioning. We had a French guest here at Parc Verger for the last couple of nights who warned us that the Gendarmes are clamping down on wild campers who dump liquid waste (black or grey) where they stop. This also applies to those who leave their grey waste tap open as they travel - according to our guest they are looking to see of any camping car is leaving a trail!

France is incredibly motorhome friendly, but clearly there are some who abuse the free and easy attitude here. Enjoy your travelling, but dump properly is the message.

Bob
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Spoil it for others that follow.

Would they do it in a street outside their own drive.
l dont think so. FINE THEM AND PUT IN THE PAPERS, FORUMS WILL HELP STOP OTHERS THINKING ABOUT DOING IT.:Angry:

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Jan 3, 2008
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Wild camping

As I understand it wild camping is prohibited throughout the whole of France. The handbook that came with our Rapido is very clear about that. It is not necessary to wild camp, given the number or aires available.
 
Apr 27, 2008
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Although there are some who wild camp in France, there is no excuse for dumping waste. This can be done for free at most village aires (may have to pay for water) and some service stations on motorways.
 

WynandJean

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Although there are some who wild camp in France, there is no excuse for dumping waste. This can be done for free at most village aires (may have to pay for water) and some service stations on motorways.

I must say I can't see why it could not be considered the norm in France and here at home. I am sure that a drive-over drain up one corner of the forecourt/parking area would be beneficial in reducing the problem. And, dare I say it, maybe a cassette emptying facility adjoining the toilet block?

Wyn

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Snowbird

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Grey water dumping...........Surely not, no Funster would do that, would they ?.
 

Geo

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I must say I can't see why it could not be considered the norm in France and here at home. I am sure that a drive-over drain up one corner of the forecourt/parking area would be beneficial in reducing the problem. And, dare I say it, maybe a cassette emptying facility adjoining the toilet block?

Wyn

Great Idea Wyn:thumb:

Ill install one on my Garage Forcourt::bigsmile:

Your address please for the invoice:Blush:
 

WynandJean

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I appreciate the point you are making but I'm not suggesting each local garage should do so (as nice as it may be) but certainly places the size of motorway services and larger filling stations who would always benefit from the large capacity deisel tanks on motorhomes being filled up while there. I am sure that the cost spread between the number of customers drawn to that station would not be so great.
I also think that it would be a reasonable facility to be made available at motorhome traders' premises, as I have seen in France.

Wyn

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Dec 29, 2007
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I have seen many French motorhomers dumping their waste at the side of the road or as they drive along. Some even do it on an Aire even though there are facilities to do so :Sad:
 

GJH

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I appreciate the point you are making but I'm not suggesting each local garage should do so (as nice as it may be) but certainly places the size of motorway services and larger filling stations who would always benefit from the large capacity deisel tanks on motorhomes being filled up while there. I am sure that the cost spread between the number of customers drawn to that station would not be so great.
I also think that it would be a reasonable facility to be made available at motorhome traders' premises, as I have seen in France.

Wyn
As posted Broken Link Removed a couple of weeks ago, retro-fitting to existing stations is probably the biggest barrier. There may not be a sewage pipe close enough to enable a drive-over drain up one corner of the forecourt/parking area. At most MSAs I've stopped at recently access to the toilet block is by going inside, past the shops/cafes so how easy would it be to create access to an external cassette emptying facility?

Having said that, if anyone thinks there is a real demand why not approach the major MSA operators (Extra, Moto, Road Chef & Welcome Break) and show them that they are missing a commercial opportunity. They all have contact details on their web sites.
 

Scattycat

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As I understand it wild camping is prohibited throughout the whole of France. The handbook that came with our Rapido is very clear about that. It is not necessary to wild camp, given the number or aires available.


We've never had a problem wild camping over here.
But I suppose it depends on what you call wild camping
It appears from your post that any overnight parking that is not on an aire or campsite is classed as wild camping.

We often use supermarket car-parks and market or village squares without any problems.
:thumb:

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Jan 3, 2008
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Wilding

We've never had a problem wild camping over here.
But I suppose it depends on what you call wild camping
It appears from your post that any overnight parking that is not on an aire or campsite is classed as wild camping.

We often use supermarket car-parks and market or village squares without any problems.
:thumb:[/QUO

I suppose supermarket car parks being private land do not count as wild camping although we did one see some Gendarmes moving a couple of travellers off of an Intermarche car park (which was closed at the time) Village squares and other public places i.e. roadside lay-bys street parking places etc are quite clearly illegal. However, if you are not causing a problem the local Gendarmes or Police Municipal might not bother to tell you to move. i would just rather go onto an air instead of wondering if we might get a knock on the door form the Gendarmes or Police Municipal, or worse the market trader who is wanting to set up a stall or just about to block our exit with a stall
 
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Scattycat

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We've never had a problem wild camping over here.
But I suppose it depends on what you call wild camping
It appears from your post that any overnight parking that is not on an aire or campsite is classed as wild camping.

We often use supermarket car-parks and market or village squares without any problems.
:thumb:[/QUO

I suppose supermarket car parks being private land do not count as wild camping although we did one see some Gendarmes moving a couple of travellers off of an Intermarche car park (which was closed at the time) Village squares and other public places i.e. roadside lay-bys street parking places etc are quite clearly illegal. However, if you are not causing a problem the local Gendarmes or Police Municipal might not bother to tell you to move. i would just rather go onto an air instead of wondering if we might get a knock on the door form the Gendarmes or Police Municipal, or worse the market trader who is wanting to set up a stall or just about to block our exit with a stall

Sorry if I sound a know it all, but, I'm surprised re your ref re Intermarche as many of them have specific areas marked out for Motorhome overnight parking providing you arrive around closingtime and then leave before the shop opens in the morning, but then again if you use the supermarket to buy supplies, even just a loaf of bread then there is no problem.
Also as a point of information, supermarket carparks are not classed as private land, that is why the police will prosecute you if you park on an invalid parking space if you are not displaying the correct permit.
Also if you read the 'Code de la Route article R.417.9' which is basically the equivelant of the Highway code in the UK, you can park anywhere a car can park as long as you do not cause an obstruction, or as a Motorhome, do not put down stabilisers, chairs, awnings etc. which is then classed as camping which is illegal.
Also I'm pretty sure that similar rules now apply in Spain.
 

haganap

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Ah wonderful France ....

The country where you can piss on the street, take a dump by the door of your car in broad daylight, allow a dog to poo where it wants, throw fag buts where you want,

But wear long shorts in the swimming or leave your waste open and your nicked thrown in jail and beaten to an inch of your life by the Gendarms :Blush:

Best cancel my ferry crossing on Thursday:thumb:

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Oct 12, 2008
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I have seen many French motorhomers dumping their waste at the side of the road or as they drive along. Some even do it on an Aire even though there are facilities to do so :Sad:

Oh dear ..... Well don't feel that sad ...;-) JJ and I had a good laugh last year when leaving Malvern fields!!!Nearly all the vans we could see were leaving a mark behind them ..... grey waters dripping ... and guess what... they were all English ....tut tut tut! :RollEyes::Doh:

See the bright side , at least if French do dump thier waste at the side of the roads, these roads are french, you're not obliged to come and see by yourselves::bigsmile:

Frankie:Cool:
 

scotjimland

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Oh dear ..... Well don't feel that sad ...;-) JJ and I had a good laugh last year when leaving Malvern fields!!!Nearly all the vans we could see were leaving a mark behind them ..... grey waters dripping ... and guess what... [HI]they were all English [/HI]....tut tut tut! :RollEyes::Doh:

See the bright side , at least if French do dump thier waste at the side of the roads, these roads are french, you're not obliged to come and see by yourselves::bigsmile:

Frankie:Cool:

Glad to see there were no Jocks or Taffs :thumb: ::bigsmile: :winky:
 

Snowbird

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Am able to save the gendarmes a lot of time looking for these culprits. All they have to do is check out this thread and arrest them straight off the boat :Cool:.
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ehuplad

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Are you not allowed to dump your grey water any were you want??
After all it is only water with some washing up liquid in it, what harm can it do.
 

Heyupluv

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Although there are some who wild camp in France, there is no excuse for dumping waste. This can be done for free at most village aires (may have to pay for water) and some service stations on motorways.

Correct.....
Also in some supermarkets in France there are bournes with free drop off for balck and grey.. so there is no need dump in the countrside..
 

haganap

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Are you not allowed to dump your grey water any were you want??
After all it is only water with some washing up liquid in it, what harm can it do.

Apparently Mike, forget what the likes of Mcdonalds are doing to our kids, the dangers of Fracking, the devastation done by BP, the fact that by the time I've written this another couple of children would of died somewhere in the world through starvation,

Dumping grey waste is the abomination of the world as we know it :thumb::Smile:

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Jan 3, 2008
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Sorry if I sound a know it all, but, I'm surprised re your ref re Intermarche as many of them have specific areas marked out for Motorhome overnight parking providing you arrive around closingtime and then leave before the shop opens in the morning, but then again if you use the supermarket to buy supplies, even just a loaf of bread then there is no problem.
Also as a point of information, supermarket carparks are not classed as private land, that is why the police will prosecute you if you park on an invalid parking space if you are not displaying the correct permit.
Also if you read the 'Code de la Route article R.417.9' which is basically the equivelant of the Highway code in the UK, you can park anywhere a car can park as long as you do not cause an obstruction, or as a Motorhome, do not put down stabilisers, chairs, awnings etc. which is then classed as camping which is illegal.
Also I'm pretty sure that similar rules now apply in Spain.

That's interesting, I have never noticed specific camping car places at Intermarche, but then I haven't looked to find them. The people I saw the Gendarmes moving off were Roma types who has set up table and chairs etc outside, in other words they were wild camping, perhaps that's why they were being moved, I don't know, but that is what I saw.

I take your point about camping cars being permitted to park anywhere a car can and sleeping in a parked camping car I doubt could be classed as wild camping but as you say stabilisers, chairs, awning being used would be wild camping and prohibited as I originally said. However, many towns have prohibited parking of or sleeping in camping cars and display signs to this effect. It appears that was how aires first came into being, if a town prohibited camping cars, they provided facilities on the outskirts.

I quote the text of an official circular to the Commissioners of the Republic by the Ministry of Tourism inn June 1985

"As part of general police powers provided by article L131.2 of the Code of Communes Mayors are entitled to prohibit all activities leading to troubles with public order, cleanliness etc. in the whole of the commune, on a public highway or elsewhere, they thus have considerable powers to combat night-time noise, discharge of sewage, or waste, and the dislay of objects which can be caused by the incorrect use of self propelled caravans when parked as of dwellings. But it is the beaver of the users rather then the self propelled caravans themselves which must be called into question.

In the absence of exceptional local conditions the legal motives taken from article L.131.2 do not allow the declaration of a general prohibition of all self propelled caravans from parking on the whole of the community.

Allthough the risks appear greater when these vehicle are occupied, it is sufficient to prevent them to limit the prohibitions to certain sensitive zones, while retaining the right for an overnight stop in some place in the commune.

The setting up of special areas bordering the most exposed zones would encourage the observance of communal regulations and make their adoption more acceptable in the eyes of the users and, where appropriate, the administrative judge."

Thus, aires as we know and love them were born.
 

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