Where the Préfet maritime draws the lines
Governing: Préfet maritime de la Méditerranée AP 109/2024 (navigation), AP 123/2019 (anchoring framework), AP 157/2024 (45 m and over); local anchoring orders; Code des transports L5242-2. Builds on: L1.2.
The 300 m band
AP 109/2024 of 30 Apr 2024 replaced AP 19/2018 as the general navigation order for the French Mediterranean coast. The key rule for any yacht or tender:
- 5 knots in the 300 m coastal band, permanently, whether or not the band is buoyed;
- the 300 m is measured from the waterline, including islets, rocks and harbour works, not just the beach.
Other points you will meet with guests:
- Jet skis inside the band go at 5 kn and only in the lanes where they are authorised. Where nothing is buoyed, they may only cross perpendicular to the shore.
- Water-skiing and towed inflatables happen beyond 300 m, by day, leaving from the shore through the speed lanes. A 2 m orange pennant and an observer aged 16 or over are required.
- Beach buoyage plans are issued commune by commune and renewed often. Mooring to a buoyage buoy is forbidden.
CAUTION — the tender is a yacht too The 5-knot rule applies to the tender taking guests to the beach club just as it does to the mother ship. Most complaints on the Riviera start with a tender wake inside 300 m.
Posidonia: the framework
AP 123/2019 (3 Jun 2019) prohibits anchoring or stopping that damages the habitat of protected marine plants, above all posidonia seagrass, protected since 1988. It applies to French and foreign flags alike. The order itself sets the principle; local orders by département define the zones and the length thresholds.
Local bans by length
Since the first orders of 12 Oct 2020, local orders have banned anchoring in mapped posidonia zones for yachts of 24 m and over, and 20 m and over in some places. The zones are on SHOM charts. By 2022 they covered:
- the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes;
- in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Côte Bleue and La Ciotat;
- in the Hérault, Agde, Palavas and Frontignan;
- the Pyrénées-Orientales coast from Argelès to the Spanish border;
- in Corsica, the Bonifacio reserve and Cap Corse / Agriate.
Pampelonne (order of 27 Jun 2023) has its own scheme: a ban line for yachts over 24 m, compulsory anchoring zones by length, short-stop drop-off zones and rules on dynamic positioning.
45 m and over: declare or ask
AP 157/2024 (23 May 2024) covers large yachts:
| Yacht LOA | Regime | How |
|---|---|---|
| 45 m to under 80 m | Declaration | Tell the sémaphore at least 1 hour before arrival. Deemed authorised unless refused. |
| 80 m and over | Authorisation | Ask the sémaphore at least 1 hour before arrival; decided by CROSS MED, or by the Toulon naval base inside the grande rade. Do not anchor until authorised. |
Other commercial ships of 300 GT or more or 45 m or more also need authorisation. The annexes list the sémaphores, their sectors and the compulsory anchoring zones.
WARNING — the penalty is not a parking ticket Breaching the Préfet maritime's orders is punishable by up to one year's imprisonment and a €150,000 fine (L5242-2). Some web articles quote other decrees and an 8 m threshold; they are wrong. Work from the préfecture's own orders.
For the Spanish side of the same problem, compare Anchoring in the Balearics.
Summary
Five knots inside 300 m, everywhere, always. No anchoring on posidonia; 24 m (20 m in places) bans in mapped zones; 45–80 m declare and 80 m+ ask, at least an hour ahead. Penalties reach €150,000.