Sunday closing
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Martial Tardy • The French government's extended Sunday driving ban for hauliers will come into force on 2 April.
International operators on their way home through France have traditionally been exempt from the restrictions; from 2 April only trucks carrying livestock and perishable goods will be allowed to move.
The extended restrictions follow the French drivers strike last November. One of the drivers' grievances was that Italian and Spanish hauliers were competing unfairly because they took French cargo home on Sundays.
"The whole thing had little to do with British hauliers, who will nevertheless be affected by the new rules," says a French official.
El Luxembourg's parliament has turned down proposals for a total Sunday driving ban and rejected plans to ban lorries from overtaking on motorways.
The French ban has caused problems on Luxembourg's roads. A transport ministry spokesman says: "Lorries waiting to get into France line up near the border and sometimes clog up the emergency lane for several kilometres. Imagine the disruption when they all pull out together at lOpm on Sunday."
Luxembourg's government says that instituting its own ban would simply shift the problem to neighbouring Belgium.
"The issue must be addressed at EU or at least Benelux-level," says the spokesman.
The overtaking ban was dismissed because the Government believed it would "result in endless convoys forming on the right lane, effectively preventing car drivers from getting off the motorway."