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Security Fencing


Gemma
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Hi all,

My sister has just bought a house over here with a pool and needs to know about security fencing.  Are there any legal requirements about the type of gate you should have with the fencing?  Do they need to be sprung gates or can you have one that you close manually?

Also, what is the required distance from the pool to the gate (not sure there is one but said I'd ask).

Thanks for your help!

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There is a short summary of the regulations on http://www.riviera-reporter.com/links/francerules.html with some useful links and it would be worth googling 'swimming pool regulations france' as there seems to be quite a bit in English.  There has been a lot in the past on this site too but I don't know how far back the search facility takes you.  Good luck anyway!

Val

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi Gemma,

there has been a lot of discussion on this topic in the past - when the regulations came into force in May 2004.

A brief summary is as follows:

You must - on pain of a penalty of up to 45,000€ and possible jail if someone dies.. protect your pool with an approved security device.

This can be one of four options. 1. A safety fence 2. An alarm 3. A security cover 4. An Abri (shelter - like a greenhouse over the pool.)

These must conform to the relevant French standards or you are not compliant and open to prosecution. The standards are NF P 90-306 for fences. 307 for Alarms 308 for covers 309 for Abris.

If you choose a fence it must be manufactured to the French standard and should be labelled as such. You will be given an attestation de conformite which is your proof.

The fence must be installed a minimumof 1m from the waters edge. There is no ruling on the maximum distance, the law merely states that it should not be so far away as to be rendered ineffective... - there's a grey area for you. The barrier must be a minimum of 1.1m high - in practice they are all 1.2m. On installation there must be no object (such as rocks or a low wall) within a 1.1m arc measured from the top of the fence.

If the pool is for family use only then you can use a simple gate, made by opening the fence where two sections meet - for a mesh type fence. If a separate gate is installed it must be of a self closing self latching variety and must open outwards. The gate must have been tested through 50,000 cycles so you cannot use any old gate, it must be a professionally manufactured one which has been tested and found compliant. If the pool is in collective use - if you rent the house out or anyone other than your immediate family uses the pool when you are not in residence then the pool is considered to be in collective use and you are obliged by law to have a compliant self closing/latching gate.

Feel free to contact me for any further, more comprehensive, advice

Richard

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