Outdoor signs and advertising will be controlled by mayors, from January 1, 2024

The compliance of outdoor advertising and signs will now be controlled by the mayors to whom this “police power” has been entrusted on January 1, 2024, formalized a decree published on Sunday in the Official Journal. This decree follows a provision of the Climate and Resilience law of 2021 and provides for the transfer of a certain number of skills to mayors or presidents of intermunicipalities in matters of outdoor advertising.

They will now have “responsibility for receiving prior declarations and processing requests for authorization to install advertising, signs and pre-signs, but also for on-the-ground control, implementation and the monitoring of sanctions”, according to a publication by the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) on its website. Previously, this power of advertising was shared between the prefect and the mayor - except when the municipality was covered by a local advertising regulation, in which case it already fell to the mayor, the AMF further explained during a November webinar.

“It is obviously easier” for local actors “to be able to note that an illegal sign has been erected overnight or that a sign that does not necessarily correspond to the rules of local regulations has also been installed, rather than surveillance carried out since the capital of the prefecture,” said a representative of the Ministry of Ecological Transition during this online event.

The regulations prohibit advertising outside urban areas and regulate its formats and densities elsewhere, specified a representative of the regional department of environment, planning and housing (DREAL) of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Finally, it subjects “the most impactful devices (tarpaulins, digital advertisements) to prior authorization,” she added.