The Great Motorhome Festival

The CLC association, which represents motorhome industry professionals and user federations, is working to persuade French municipalities to allow motorhome parking. According to the organisation, a French motorhome user spends an average of €50 per day, while foreign visitors spend €80. The CLC advises town halls on creating dedicated parking spaces and has challenged illegal bans in administrative courts since 1985.

Chilowe.com published a vanlife itinerary in the Monts du Forez between Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Étienne. The two-day route includes a 10 km hike with 250 m elevation gain on the Hautes-Chaumes plateau, a 120 m via ferrata on the Rocher de l'Olme at 1,145 m altitude, and a visit to the Sauvain dairy cooperative producing Fourme de Montbrison cheese. Overnight spots are recommended via the Park4night app.

From 9 to 11 October 2026, the Camper Van Weekend event will be held in Apremont (Oise department) at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, focusing on vanlife and itinerant travel. The programme includes an exhibition of camper vans and equipment, a private second-hand sales area, a vanlifer village, and the We Love Van music festival. Visitor entry is free with reservation; parking pass costs €8 online or €10 on site, motorcycle pass €4 or €5, bivouac pass €40 or €50, bus and liner pass €60 or €75, and a private second-hand village pass €90 including bivouac. The bivouac opens from 18:00 on 8 October, and rates apply per vehicle regardless of the number of passengers.

At the Salon des Véhicules de Loisirs in Bourget, two motorhomes with a price difference of nearly 20 times were presented. The most affordable is the Bürstner Papillon PC 6.0 van on a Citroën Jumper 2.2L 120 hp base, measuring 5.99 m long and 2.05 m wide, sleeping up to three and seating four, with a GVW of 3,500 kg and a payload of 823 kg, priced from €49,380. The most expensive is the Kodiak expedition truck by R Truck France on a Renault Trucks 6×6 chassis with a 440 hp engine, 515 mm ground clearance, an 18 m² living cell, solar panels, lithium batteries, a generator, a 1,000-litre water tank and satellite connectivity, built in a limited series and priced at €996,000.

In France, a homeowner placed a caravan in his garden to temporarily house his son. Four months later, the town hall notified him of a violation of Article R.421-23 of the Urban Planning Code: parking a caravan on private land outside campsites and residential leisure parks for more than three months per year requires prior declaration. The three-month limit is cumulative across all parking periods in a year, even if the caravan never stayed in place for more than a few days at a time. If exceeded, the mayor can order removal under a penalty of €500 per day, capped at €25,000.

At the SVDL 2026 show in Le Bourget, French converter Campérêve unveiled the Capeasy camper van based on the long-wheelbase Renault Trafic (L2, 5.48 m). The entry-level model introduces a permanent transverse rear bed measuring 1.88 m by 1.12 m, achieved through lateral body extensions at the rear windows that do not increase the vehicle's overall width. The van is homologated for four people and features a pop-up roof with a second bed (1.92 m by 1.28 m), a kitchen block with a 50-litre fridge, and a 130 hp diesel engine. Pricing starts at €56,900; a 150 hp diesel with automatic transmission is available for an additional €4,000.