Legal framework
Governing: préfet maritime de la Méditerranée AP 109/2024 of 30 Apr 2024 (arts 2, 3, 9); Code des transports R5242-2 (décret 2026-434). Scope: French Mediterranean coast. On the Atlantic and Channel coasts check the local préfet maritime's order.
Five knots, everywhere near the shore
Within the 300 m band, measured from the waterline on the shore, from emergent islets and rocks, and from harbour breakwaters and other works, speed is limited to 5 knots. The rule is general and permanent, and it applies whether or not the band is buoyed (AP 109/2024 art. 2.1). A local order may set a different figure; the default is five.
The exceptions are narrow: lanes reserved for water-skiing and similar towed sports, specially regulated zones, and rescue or police craft. None of them is you.
CAUTION — rocks count too The 300 m is measured from islets and rocks as well as from the beach. Passing inside a rocky islet 200 m off the coast puts you in the band, even with open water all round.
Beach buoyage plans
Each coastal commune has a beach buoyage plan (plan de balisage), made by joint orders of the préfet maritime and the mayor, often renewed every season. It organises the band into lanes and zones:
| Feature | Rule for a rented motor boat |
|---|---|
| Shore-access lane (chenal d'accès au rivage) | Enter only from one end; go direct and continuous; no stopping, no anchoring; 5 kn unless stated. Jet skis excluded unless authorised. |
| Water-sports lane (chenal des sports nautiques de vitesse) | Only for boats towing skiers, inflatables or parasails |
| Jet-ski lane | Jet skis only, to reach or leave the shore |
| ZIEM (zone closed to motor craft) | No entry, no anchoring, no stopping, including motor tenders |
| ZIM (no-anchoring zone) | Passage allowed; no anchor down |
| ZMP (clean-anchoring zone) | Anchoring only for boats with holding tanks |
| Swimming zones | Closed to all registered craft |
Where a plan provides for a zone, it is generally enforceable once it is actually marked, unless the order says the zone is permanent. The 5-knot rule needs no marking at all.
WARNING — the buoys are not moorings It is forbidden to moor to buoyage buoys (AP 109/2024 art. 9.4). They are anchored lightly and are not designed to hold a boat.
Water-skiing and towed inflatables
Towing is by day, beyond 300 m, leaving and returning through a water-sports lane. If your rental boat is not towing, stay out of those lanes.
Speed beyond the band: the 2026 rule
Since June 2026, every driver of a motor pleasure boat must remain master of their speed and adapt it to the surroundings (Code des transports R5242-2). Speed must be reduced:
- when crossing or overtaking another craft, or in dense traffic;
- in reduced visibility, at night, or in bad weather;
- near swimmers, divers or physical obstacles.
Failing to do so is a fourth-class contravention (L4.2). A beach on a busy August afternoon is exactly the case the rule was written for.
Reading it at the base
The rental premises must display a diagram of the local buoyage, lane and speeds (Division 240, art. 240-3.02). Photograph it. Then, from the water, identify the lane before you start rather than after.
TIP — plan the exit Leave the band at 5 knots on the lane's axis, check astern for swimmers, and only open the throttle once the outer buoys are behind you.