French Sports Code
In forceThe collective and individual water sports equipment and facilities provided by the establishments comply with the regulations in force and are properly maintained. In addition, they are appropriate for the purposes of the instruction and the surveillance and intervention system.
Under no circumstances may life jackets not bearing the "CE" mark be made available to participants.
The technical manager provided for in article A. 322-67 periodically checks that the individual and collective equipment is in a good state of repair, that it is fit for purpose and that it is correctly adapted to the practices and skills of the participants concerned.
Pleasure craft subject to registration and used in maritime waters are subject to an annual inspection in accordance with the regulations in force.
On cruise ships, lifejackets must be readily available on board and caped at the discretion of the skipper. Children under twelve years of age must wear a lifejacket when on deck.
In all other cases of navigation, lifejackets must be worn by all persons under sixteen years of age on board, except when windsurfing, where only an isothermal garment must be worn as soon as the water temperature falls below 18 degrees.
However, over the age of sixteen, the obligation to wear a life jacket or an isothermal garment is left to the discretion of the qualified technical supervisor provided for in article A. 322-68, depending on the skill level of the participants, the climatic and weather conditions, the boats used and the surveillance and intervention system.
