hallii Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 We are just back from the Atlantic coast of France and Dordogne area. We noticed that aires in general seemed to be a lot busier and unless you get there early many would be full. I seem to remember reading that new m/h registrations are up by 26% in the UK, is the rise similar in France? I noticed many new French vans and also noted that the majority were big ones, to big to fit in the typical aires marked space particularly when the trailer/car was taken into account. There also seems to be a tendency for people to live permanently on aires as witnessed by the awnings and typical small encampment with dead grass under the van. I actually heard one Frenchman complaining to one of his countrymen that " There is no room on our aires anymore, they are full of foreigners" ! Maybe if he had lost his car and trailer he could have squeezed in. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 We have noticed the same, it's more apparent out of the main holiday season, when the active retired get out and about. The other reason is we think, that more and more campsites are chargeing excesive prices for dogs, which if you have more than one, can become prohibitive when staying on sites. Aires, even when you have to pay, are good value, no hidden extras, I'll duck down under the parapet now !!!!!!! But in answer to the sales in France, I think they are on the increase, as all the dealerships seem to be busy at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Could it be thatthere are too many early retired government and EU employees and contractors who having benefitted from the generous salaries gravy train are now benefitting from the generous unfunded pensions trough - and all at the expense of the rest of us Plebs who have no such luxuries and had to work and pay for what we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capnjaj Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Hey, You did not actually here a Frenchman complaining about foreigners. I don't beleive it B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 capnjaj - 2015-10-06 2:47 PM Hey, You did not actually here a Frenchman complaining about foreigners. I don't believe it B-) Neither do I - most of 'em never bother to speak other than a nod and a quick 'bonjour'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Could also be , because many French Camp sites close end of September! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertandjean Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Tracker - 2015-10-06 1:39 PM Could it be thatthere are too many early retired government and EU employees and contractors who having benefitted from the generous salaries gravy train are now benefitting from the generous unfunded pensions trough - and all at the expense of the rest of us Plebs who have no such luxuries and had to work and pay for what we have. Oh Tracker how awful you have had to work so hard whilst those of us who were employed in the public sector never put in a full days work in our lives. Get out the violins quickly! Returning to main point then agree with original poster that many Aires do seem busier than normal this time of year, certainly all eight we have been on so far have been full or almost full by end of day. Agree also with other poster that even though many now charge are still great value, and keeping head well above parapet, still think are best way to enjoy our great hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Tracker - 2015-10-06 1:39 PM Could it be that there are too many early retired government and EU employees and contractors who having benefited from the generous salaries gravy train are now benefitting from the generous unfunded pensions trough - and all at the expense of the rest of us Plebs who have no such luxuries and had to work and pay for what we have. The aire i always use at Bray-Dune was absolutely deserted this year in June. When i arrived there was nothing on at all! A day later one small m/h turned up but apart from that, just the odd coach. An increase of 26% in uk of newly registered mh's comes as quite a surprise though. By comparison to French, the UK State pension is extremely poor. In fact it ranks among the lowest whichever 'league table' you choose to look at. http://conversation.which.co.uk/money/uk-state-pension-comparison-serps/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Hallii I am surprised to read that someone was trying to park a car and trailer on an aire. When my husband was alive we towed a small car on an A-frame often went to the aire at Gruissan where there was a permanent "money collector". We were NEVER allowed to enter with the car. It had to be parked in the ordinary car park and then try to get a space where we had sight of the car at all times. I have a feeling we also had to pay a fee to park there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I was travelling in France twice in September, once in the motorhome (Normandy, Mayenne, Loire) and once on a rail-based trip (Alsace). I didn’t notice any greater than previous increase in the ‘business’ of aires (nor of campsites) and, although there were a lot of motohomes parking overnight on the large (free) car-park at Obernai where we were hotelling, there weren’t swarms of the things bowling along the Alsace roads. However, it should be anticipated that pressure on aires will increase in France as sales of new motothomes will augment the overall number not replace old vehicles. It’s also the case that the open period of municipal campsites is often being shortened to reduce financial overheads, or the sites are being sold and the commercial owners are installing static caravans. Passing through Herouvillette (just south of Ouistreham) I noticed that the aire there was now regulated, with the number of motorhome parking places reduced to (I think) eight, a time limit had been placed on the length of stay, and there was a hefty fine for non-compliance. This was pretty much inevitable as motorhomes used to cram into the car-park-based aire and some were clearly living there permanently. More stringent regulation is to be expected in future as the only people who really like motorcaravans are motorcaravanners and a lot of other folks actively dislike them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I think those aires along the main toll free routes do get very busy and are full by 4pm. Last week on the D2020 they were packed in tight. Not very pleasant, but as said, sites start to close down at the end of September so there is less choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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