On-street parking FAQ

Charges for parking in each zone are displayed at the parking meter where you are parked. To see prices for on street parking in communes managed by Saemes, please click below :

 Chatou (78)

Gentilly (94)

Joinville-le-Pont (94)

The maximum stay varies depending on which commune you are parked in.

• For Chatou (78) : 2,5 hrs
• For Gentilly (94) : 2 hrs in an orange or red zone and 5 hrs in a green zone
• For Joinville-le-Pont (94) : 4 hrs

An FPS or Forfait Post Stationnement is a parking fine awarded for exceeding your stay, which, as of 1 January 2018, replaces the former penalty system for non-payment or insufficient payment. It falls under the jurisdiction of the commune, which is responsible for setting the penalty amount. It is issued by an official parking officer and no longer comes under the competence of the police.

The FPS penalty amount is decided by the local authority where you are parked. It varies from one local authority to the next. 
It cannot exceed the fee due for the maximum possible stay in the zone where your vehicle is parked.

If you pay your FPS quickly (within 72 hrs or less, depending on the commune), the amount due will be reduced (by an amount set by each commune). It can be paid via:
•    the mobile app
•    the parking meter
•    the parking reception centre (in towns equipped with an office)
If you are unable to pay your fine within the specified time period, you must wait to receive your FPS payment notice, which will be sent by post to your home address by the Agence Nationale du Traitement Automatisé des Infractions (the French national body responsible for the automated processing of penalties). You will then have 3 months to make the payment.

Yes, a new FPS will be issued at the end of the maximum permitted stay (see How long can I park in one parking space as a visitor?)

If you have not paid for parking or have not paid a sufficient amount for your parking, you will find a document on your windscreen informing you of the FPS penalty, which will contain the following information:

The local authority and service provider responsible for its issuance
The date and time at which it was issued
The address where the stay was exceeded
The vehicle registration number
The amount of the FPS, minus any amounts already paid 
The FPS expiry time
Details of how to have the FPS reduced (if this is offered by the commune)
Details of payment methods for reduced FPS penalties

The FPS notice is provided for information purposes only. You will also receive a payment notice, which will be sent to your home address within 15 days by the Agence Nationale du Traitement Automatisé des Infractions (the French national body responsible for the automated processing of penalties).

An RAPO is (Recours Administratif Préalable Obligatoire/obligatory prior administrative appeal) the administrative procedure available for appealing an FPS penalty.

Appeal deadline

FPS appeals must be made within one month from the date the payment notice is issued or sent, with 5 additional clear days allowed to take into account delivery times. The appeal deadline is stated in the section "Comment contester cet avis de paiement?" (How to appeal the payment notice).

Sending an appeal

The RAPO appeal must be sent to the local body responsible for the parking officer who established the FPS penalty. Appeals may be sent by email or registered post. Details of how to make an appeal (website and postal address), which vary between communes, are given in the information sheet attached to the payment notice.

Deadlines for replies

The body to which the appeal has been made has a period of one month from receipt of the email or letter to make a decision on the appeal. If no response is received within one month, this indicates that the appeal has been rejected. In the event that an appeal is rejected, this decision can be contested within a period of one month before the Commission du Contentieux du Stationnement Payant (the paid parking appeals and complaints commission), subject to prior payment of the FPS penalty amount indicated on the payment notice and respect of all other conditions for appeal.

Amended payment notice

After studying the RAPO, and if the appeal is accepted, an amended payment notice will be sent by the body to which the appeal has been made. The amount shown on this amended payment notice may be nil or amended based on the elements provided in the appeal.

To ensure the admissibility of your appeal, you must, within a period of one month, send all of the following supporting documents by recorded, signed-for post or by email according to the instructions provided on the payment notice.
•    A summary of the facts and reasons for your appeal
•    A copy of the contested payment notice
•    A copy of the registration document or vehicle transfer certificate and the document registration certificate from the vehicle registration system
•    The local authority has a period of one month to examine your appeal

If the parking meter is out of service, you still need to pay for parking. You must pay for your parking at another parking meter in the same fee zone (green, orange or red). If a parking officer sees that you have not paid for your parking, they will issue an FPS penalty.

When you pay for your parking via the mobile app or parking meter you will be asked to enter your vehicle registration number. This enables parking offers to scan your number plate and check that sufficient parking has been paid for your vehicle.

The parking meter will ask if you would like a payment receipt to be printed at the end of the transaction, regardless of which payment method has been used.