France set to ban trucks on Sunday
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by Miles Brignall • British hauliers face a French Sunday driving ban following an agreement reached between striking French drivers and their government.
Trucks are already banned from moving through France on Sundays but hauliers who enter the country by 22:00hrs on a Saturday are allowed to drive back to ports to go home.
The French now plan to withdraw this exemption after striking drivers won the right not to work on Sundays. To enable French firms to continue to compete on equal terms the drivers have demanded that no trucks should be allowed to transit France on a Sunday.
The withdrawal of the exemption, subject to the necessary legislative changes, is expected to happen in March. It would have a serious impact on operators, particularly those hauling food from Spain. Reefer operators are currently allowed to drive on Sundays and they are expected to retain that right—but this is not certain.
L1 Department of Transport officials have met their French counterparts to discuss the matter. They have pressed for the retention of the right to return on Sundays.