Crit'Air Sticker for Dijon - ZFE Guide for UK Drivers

Dijon is the capital of Burgundy and a common first or second night for UK drivers heading towards Switzerland, the Alps or northern Italy. It has a low-emission zone, and that zone currently bans nothing at all. This page explains why, and what it means for the rest of your route.

Dijon ZFE zone boundaries

The Dijon Métropole ZFE covers the part of the metropolitan area inside a ring of major roads: the rocade, the Avenue Roland Carraz, the boulevards des Bourroches and des Gorgets, and the Avenue du 1er Consul.

Ten communes fall inside that boundary: Dijon itself plus Ahuy, Daix, Chenôve, Fontaine-lès-Dijon, Longvic, Marsannay-la-Côte, Plombières-lès-Dijon, Saint-Apollinaire and Talant. That takes in the historic centre, the Palais des Ducs, the covered market and the start of the Route des Grands Crus south towards Beaune.

What is banned

Nothing, at present. This is the unusual part and it is worth stating plainly.

Dijon Métropole brought the zone into force on 1 January 2025 and at the same time granted a general derogation permitting every vehicle to circulate, unclassified ones included. In the metropole’s own framing the derogation is revisable each year according to how air quality evolves.

The reason is straightforward: Dijon already meets the European nitrogen dioxide thresholds that other cities are working towards by 2030. The zone exists because the law required cities above 150,000 residents to create one, not because Dijon has an air quality problem that needs solving by banning cars.

A monitoring framework rather than a restriction

It is more accurate to think of the Dijon ZFE as a monitoring framework than a restriction zone. The legal apparatus is in place, the perimeter is drawn, and the mechanism could be activated. What is absent is any current prohibition.

That has one practical implication worth taking seriously: the derogation is a decision reviewed annually, not a permanent exemption. If Dijon’s air quality deteriorates, the framework is already built and restrictions could follow without needing to be created from scratch. Since a Crit’Air sticker never expires, one obtained now would cover you through any such change.

Where the rules actually bite on a Burgundy route

Dijon is rarely a destination in itself for UK drivers. It is a staging post, and the zones around it are considerably less relaxed.

Lyon, roughly two hours south, bans Crit’Air 3, 4, 5 and unclassified around the clock, and the A6 and A7 run straight through it with no motorway bypass. This is the single strictest zone most UK drivers encounter and it sits directly on the route from Dijon to the Mediterranean.

Grenoble bans Crit’Air 3 and worse for cars, though only Monday to Friday between 7am and 7pm, which makes weekend Alpine access easier than it first appears.

Strasbourg bans Crit’Air 4, 5 and unclassified across all 33 communes of its Eurométropole, continuously. If your Burgundy trip loops north through Alsace, that is the zone to plan for.

So the honest summary is that Dijon will not stop you, but almost nothing else on a Burgundy-and-beyond itinerary is as permissive.

Burgundy wine country

The Route des Grands Crus running south from Dijon through Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges and on to Beaune sits outside the zone entirely, as does Beaune itself. Even if Dijon’s derogation were withdrawn tomorrow, the vineyards would be unaffected. The zone only ever covered the ten communes of the metropole.

Fines and enforcement

With a general derogation in force there is no Dijon sticker fine to incur. The national scale would apply if that changed: €68 for a car or motorcycle, reduced to €45 for prompt payment, and €135 upwards for heavier vehicles.

How to apply from the UK

Through France Stickers, you can get your official Crit’Air sticker delivered to your UK address for just £7. Enter your registration, confirm your details, and we handle the French-language application. Dijon itself currently restricts nothing, so if it is your only French stop you may genuinely not need a sticker. If your route continues to Lyon, Grenoble, Strasbourg or the Alps, you almost certainly do. Check your registration free to see which band you are in before deciding.