Around the French Canals

Caution

As the information on this page is contributed by many people, it is not possible to vouch for its accuracy. Information can also be 'out of date' at the time that the information is read. The information must not be used for navigational purposes. The safety of a vessel depends ultimately on the judgement of the skipper, who should assess all information, published or unpublished. We cannot be held responsible in any way for consequences that may be incurred as a result of using information from this site.

Latest News, April 2004

1. The VNF (Voies Navigable de France)

is the authority which controls most of the French navigable river and canal network. (Major exceptions being the Brittany canals and the navigable R Somme, which are under local management.)

The VNF website (www.vnf.fr) has recently been improved, and now offers much more timely and up to date information. The home page is switchable between French and English, although the English Translations are occasionally eccentric.

The costs of the Vignette (licence) and the list of offices from which it may be purchased are directly available from the home page.

To reach the Lock Operating Hours, in French, select Transport Fluvial > Reglementation & Formalites> Horaires de Navigation, or in English, select River Transport> Regulations and Formalities > Navigation Timetable.

To find up to date information on particular waterways, which may be very useful, since over the winter parts of the system have gone from being closed due to drought, to being closed due to flooding, select in French La Capitainerie > Consultez les Avis > Rechercher des Avis a la Batellerie, or in English Harbour Master > Seek Advice > Search for Shipping Notice.

This will then bring you to a page where you can select particular regions, or waterways, and also specify the type of information that you want. This then accesses the relevant official documents. You will be asked to indicate the dates over which information should be sought, and it is a good idea to enter at least the last 6 weeks, since whilst longstanding notices are usually renewed monthly, this is not always done.

The scheduled Chomages (closures) for the year from 1st April 2004 are now available, but only from the French pages.

There are also maps, and information about ports and similar facilities to be found, although the latter should be treated with caution, since it is often based upon rather out of date material.

There are a few pages where the English translations have not not yet appeared, and occasionally information persists in French within a nominally English page, but overall the site is greatly improved, and well worth the attention of anyone planning an inland voyage through France.

2. Rhone - availability of Fuel

Anyone heading to or from the Med via the Rhone should note that this summer, waterside fuel supplies may be difficult to obtain between Les Roches de Condrieu (41 km south of Lyon) and Port St Louis (at the entrance to the Rhone from the sea, 323 km from Lyon).

Port de l'Eperviere, near Valence, (112 km from Lyon) is currently being enlarged and this will involve temporary closures of its fuel pontoon.

The Port de Plaisance at Avignon (242km) was badly damaged by last winter's floods, and although limited quayside mooring is available, the fuel pump has not yet been replaced.

A couple of years ago there was a filling station reasonably close to the river (and moorings) at Viviers (166 km), and provided it is still operating, this would be a reasonably convenient place to 'jerrycan' fuel to the boat.

3. Rhone - Current and flow information.

The CNR (Compagnie National du Rhone) provides both current and historical information about the 'debit' the water flow in cubic metres per second on its website, www.cnr.tm.fr
The flow can be very roughly converted to a current in km/hour by multiplying it by 0.0072 for the upstream reaches near to Lyon, and by multiplying it by 0.0036 once one is downstream of Bourg les Valence (more than 100km downstream of Lyon.) For example a flow rate of 2000 cubic metres per second at Viviers, (just over half the flow rate at which navigation is stopped,) would give a current of about 7.2km per hour or 4 knots. The 'debit' figures are shown on illuminated signs at some locks, and are also available from the lock keepers.

4. Other routes

Most routes are now open again after the winter floods, shut downs and works, but there are a number of potential problems.
i) First the Canal du Nivernais is currently blocked immediately upstream of Auxerre whilst repairs are made to a flood damaged weir. The rest of the Yonne and the Nivernais are open, and the blockage is scheduled to be cleared around 23 April.
ii) Second the depth on the Canal de Bourgogne remains limited to 1.4m as a result of lowering of the level in an attempt to reduce leakage.
iii) The 'Bourbonnais' route south through France is popular with yachts because it is has decent depth and not too many locks. Currently, a stretch of about 7 km of the Canal Lateral a la Loire, which is part of the route (Bief no. 6 de la Besbre) is currently subject to a depth limit of 1.2m, again as a consequence of bank leakage. However, about once a week (probably Wednesdays) it will be filled to a 1.8m depth to permit laden commercial barges to get through, and it should be possible for deeper draught pleasure craft to negociate their way through at the same time.
iv) Last winter's floods were concentrated in the south of France, and some routes in the north and east of the country remain short of water, including the Meuse route to Belgium.

5. Maximum Dimensions

Maximum craft dimensions through France from Channel to Med are Length 38.5 metres Beam 5.00 metres Air Draught 3.50 metres Water Draught 1.80 metres Lack of dredging means that the choice of routes with the full depth is limited, and there is a much greater choice (and fewer difficulties when finding moorings) with less draught.

6. Opening hours

Two years ago, the VNF, which administers most of the French inland waterway network responded to the law imposing a 35 hour maximum working week by reducing the operating hours of the locks, moving bridges etc on the system.

This applies to both commercial as well as pleasure craft. Neither VNF staff, with fewer opportunities to earn overtime, nor barge skippers, usually self employed, who have lost as much as 3 hours of potential working time per day, are happy about the situation.

On the large scale waterways, such as the Seine and the Rhone, the new hours still allow up to 12 hours of cruising a day, so the restrictions will be relatively unimportant for most pleasure craft.

On the Freycinet (locks 38m long and 5m wide) and smaller waterways, a minimum of 8 hours navigation per day is possible over the summer, and rather less in winter.

The new hours have been negociated at a fairly local level, and although a majority permit navigation from 8.30 to 12.30, and from 13.30 to 18.00 or thereabouts, there are a very large number of local variations. These have been published in French on the VNF web site www.vnf.fr under the heading 'Horaires 2004'. Unfortunately they have not been collated by waterway, so it is necessary to identify the VNF subdivision responsible for each waterway or part thereof - a rather messy though not difficult task, given the appropriate chart/guide.

Roger Edgar, 8 April 2004

Page created 28/5/02 Update 8/4/04

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