Céret market parking warning
A reader’s warning
Saturday in April, having an English visitor with us thought it would be good to go to Ceret market. Left in good time but, as usual, all proper parking places full and all the original waste land upon which one could park has been built on.
However there were odd spaces on the footpath so joined many hundreds of others and left car partly on the road and partly on the footpath. No driveway blocked, no obstruction of the road. Returned after some two hours, having spent a hundred plus Euros in the market, to find a green ticket on the windscreen from the Gendarme which I took to mean “Do not park here in future”
Wrong, it was, it appears a notice of “Infraction” – a fine of 35 Euros. Great, so the local coffers are richer by some 10,000 Euros.
I appreciate that, to the local residents, hundreds of cars parked “illegally” must be a bind once a week, but to succeed Ceret market needs to attract as many as possible and should therefore create additional parking places, with prominent notices indicating where one cannot park.
In view of the number of English, French, German, Netherland and Spanish registered cars parked, the collection of the fine is going to be a protracted affair! Especially as, if not paid within 45 days, the fine goes up to 75 Euros!
Shall not be going up to Ceret market again for a long time.
