The summer driving ban ends at 7:00 p.m. France clears up the doubts
French authorities have clarified the rules concerning summer driving bans for heavy goods vehicles. On the designated Saturdays, the restriction applies from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Once the ban ends, vehicles with a maximum permissible weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes may continue driving until midnight. Bison Futé admitted that the official brochure may not have been sufficiently clear on this point.
What hours does the summer Saturday driving ban apply in France? This question has long caused uncertainty among transport operators and drivers. The doubts resulted from a discrepancy between the wording of the regulation of 16 April 2021 and the interpretation suggested by the official Bison Futé brochure. We contacted the French authorities directly and received an unambiguous response.
Under the regulation of 16 April 2021 currently in force, the general driving ban for vehicles with a maximum permissible weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes applies from 10:00 p.m. on Saturday until 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. At the same time, Article 2 of the same regulation provides an exception for designated summer Saturdays. It states that, on those days, the hours specified in Article 1 are replaced by a ban applying from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. It also expressly states that traffic is permitted from midnight to 7:00 a.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to midnight.
The French authorities also explained that, as a general rule, additional restrictions supplement the general bans. However, in the case of Saturdays covered by summer and winter restrictions, Article 2 of the regulation applies and replaces the hours specified in Article 1 with a separate timetable.
This means that on the designated summer Saturdays — 11, 18 and 25 July, as well as 1 and 8 August — the following schedule applies to vehicles with a maximum permissible weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes:
✅ 00:00–07:00 – traffic permitted,
❌ 07:00–19:00 – driving ban applies,
✅ 19:00–24:00 – traffic permitted.
The clarification confirms that no additional ban applies between 10:00 p.m. and midnight on those days. Vehicles may therefore travel continuously from 7:00 p.m. until midnight. The French authorities have thus confirmed the literal wording of Article 2 of the regulation of 16 April 2021, while also acknowledging that the Bison Futé brochure may not have been sufficiently precise in this respect.
