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The European Union's single market is supposed to remove trade barriers, harmonise legal systems and generally facilitate trade within the Union. Has anybody told the French?
0 Since the last Legal Bulletin, when we advised on the difficulties of spot fines being imposed by the French authorities, numerous examples have have come to light. Operators running trucks in France should be aware that the new fixed penalty notices being issued by the French authorities are not as simple as they may seem.
• On the face of it they are a notice that the penalty can be part of an ultimate fine, giving the "offender" the opportunity to appear and mitigate before the court. But they also give a second option: accept the penalty as a final fixed penalty and end the matter. If you complete the wrong box you could end up with an additional fine over and above the amount originally imposed, not including costs. Alternatively, if you wish to contest the matter you could lose this right. "C'est la Guerre"...