When will EU driving licence changes apply in France?
The limit for standard permit ‘B’ licences is set to increase from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes for some vehicles
Drivers will need to have held a standard licence for at least two years to benefit from the increased weight limits
Roman Babakin/Shutterstock
Reader Question: Has France introduced the new weight limit to permit ‘B’ driving licences yet?
The EU approved changes that will see the maximum weight limit of some vehicles driven by a standard permit ‘B’ licence holder increase from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes.
The changes will mostly affect people driving motorhomes/camping cars as well as ambulances, which will automatically benefit from the weight limit increase.
However, the rules will only apply to vans and other HGVs if the vehicle is below a certain emission threshold (essentially electric vehicles).
Otherwise, the current 3.5 tonne limit will remain in place.
Originally, motorhomes were also to be excluded unless they were electric (or electric-hybrid), but a lack of available options meant the EU included all types of motorhome as eligible for the weight increase.
Read more: How to explore France in a campervan or motorhome
Vote passed earlier this year
The new rules were passed at the end of February during a wider vote on changes to driving and licences in the European Parliament.
Read more: Phones, tests, lorries: Changes on way for (some) drivers in France
Notably, a requirement for medical check-ups on elderly drivers was not passed, although the EU recommends countries implement them.
France currently has no such rule.
Read more: Do older drivers have to sit any aptitude tests in France?
Amendment 83 of the EU parliament bill, which can be found here, relates to the weight increase.
Drivers must hold a standard ‘B’ licence for two years before they can drive camping cars and ambulances at the additional weight limit (or low-emission vans and HGVs).
While the measure has been approved at the European level, further discussions on the exact implementation are yet to take place.
These negotiations were postponed until at least after the European Elections of June 2024 (which in France were won by the far-right Rassemblement National), but as of September 2024, have not been conducted.
Once the negotiations are finalised, it will then be up to the French government to change national legislation to implement them.
There is no timeline for how long this will take, but the changes are expected to come into effect in 2025 or 2026 alongside the other policies in the bill.
The EU could institute a deadline for when changes have to be applied as part of the upcoming negotiations.
