THE Association of Car Fleet Operators has slammed French regulations which rule that copies of registration documents are invalid for British drivers travelling in the country.

ACFO chairman Tony Leigh said such a policy was unworkable for fleet operators: 'The V5 is a valuable document and for it to be out of safe keeping for any time poses a risk to the vehicle's owner. If a fleet owns 1,000 vehicles and 10% go to France in a year, that's 100 registration documents to be handed out and got back. Fleets don't like to hand them out because they don't want to lose them.'

Leigh wrote to French consul-adjoint Philippe Perrier citing a 1963 Resolution of the Economic Commission for Europe, which stated that a certified extract from the registration document could be used by drivers of hired or leased vehicles. Perrier replied this was not acceptable. However, he plans to continue lobbying for a change in the regulations.

While Leigh singled out France the DVLA said such regulations applied to travel throughout the European Union.