Tuesday 9th September, 2003

HUGE FINES FOR DRIVERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS

British motorists are being hit by increasing law enforcement in France as local authorities attempt to raise revenue to compensate for falling Government funding.

Maurice Carroll of wine and travel website, winedrive.com warns: "Using fines to raise local revenue has been the norm here in France for years. Now the regional authorities are finding themselves strapped for cash, they are turning to traffic laws to compensate."

There have been recent cases of UK drivers being fined 750 Euro just for using a radar detector. "This is an old chestnut here in France and quite a few visitors have been caught over the years. Not only are they fined, they have their detectors confiscated and destroyed."

He went on to warn of a crack-down on illegal tyres which bring a fine of 900 Euros. "The Gendarmes will direct you to the nearest - not the cheapest - tyre company where the driver is forced to have new tyres fitted. With all the cut-backs in French regions, they are enforcing the laws to the letter, because each force gets a percentage of the take".

The campaign is not limited to car drivers. Owners of French property who fail to erect a child proof fence around their swimming pools face a massive 45,000 Euro fine.

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