Zone Bleu Parking Disc

They are still common around here, and we encountered them elsewhere on our holidays - can't remember where, possibly in Arles, or Tarbes airport short stay. They are mainly used for on street parking. I've never used them in paid parking, only in parking spaces marked in blue that aren't disabled parking.

These days the only place I have seen them for sale is motoring shops (Norauto et al.) and hardware shops.

We use them all the time on both sides of the German-France border in Baden-Württemberg/Alsace region, and also in Switzerland in this region.

But never for paid parking, so far as I can think: they are for street parking or lots with 2-3 hour time restrictions for blue zones. I have seen the disks recently for sale at gas stations on the German side of the border.

Thank you for your responses everyone.

They are indeed still in use in some small towns and villages with free but limited-time parking. Touristy villages and larger town centers will typically have paid parking (for which you don't need a disk), more rural places and the outskirts of towns will have free parking, so you'll typically need the disk in places that fall somewhere in the middle.

I have seen them for sale at motorway gas stations, for example.

You can also buy the parking discs on Amazon. As Balso stated, they are used in places where there is some limited time free parking. In lots that have 1 hour free parking for example, you put the disc in your car window with the time you arrived. Return and move the car prior to exceeding 1 hour and you’re ok. The disc allows the parking official to know when you arrived.

In pay lots, unless the sign says X amount of time free, you pay. The disc does not entitle you to free parking in pay lots.

Our rental car had one in it on our most recent trip, but we also have one we’ve used for years. We used it a few times on our recent Black Forest, Alsace trip.

Be sure using a European model parking disc. Likely your rental car will have one on board. Ask for one if not or you can buy them as already said in gaz stations and hardware stores. European disks look like most of the others but shows the correct time in hours and half hours. If it shows quarters of an hour too you can believe it or not risk a fine. The same if used for payed parking. In case of payed street parking in France you will see payant painted on the road surface. But always ask in case you are in doubt.

Yes, also when you set the time, you set it to the half-hour mark after when you arrive. So, if you arrive at 12.05, you set it to 12.30. If you arrive at 12.35, you set it to 13.00. You should not set it to the white space between the half hour tick marks, to try to estimate an exact time or something like that.

I still use a pre-Euro Dutch one with the price sticker of 8 f.

Thank you everyone!