Broken down on the A9: what you must do
Junctions 27 (Lunel) and 26 (Gallargues): the emergency procedure French law requires, and how we take over once your car leaves the motorway.
A9 motorway in Lunel and the Pays de Lunel.
The A9 crosses the Pays de Lunel from east to west, between junction 26 at Gallargues-le-Montueux and junction 27 at Lunel. Breaking down there is one of the most dangerous situations on French roads. And there is one rule visitors rarely know: on a French motorway, you cannot call the recovery firm of your choice.
The law requires you to use an orange emergency telephone — there is one every 2 kilometres — or to dial 112. The motorway operator then dispatches the recovery firm approved for that section, and the price of that intervention is fixed by government decree, not by the company. Our role begins afterwards: once your vehicle has left the motorway network, we take over to move it to a garage, to your address, or to our yard in Lunel.
Step by step.
- 01 Get yourself to safety first High-visibility jacket on before you leave the car, everyone behind the crash barrier, never inside the vehicle or on the carriageway. Warning triangles are not to be used on motorways in France.
- 02 Call from an orange phone or dial 112 The orange phone pinpoints your exact location. This is the official procedure: it dispatches the approved operator and gets the scene made safe.
- 03 Off the motorway Your vehicle is taken off the network to a service area or a drop-off point, usually at junction 26 or 27.
- 04 We take over Call us at that point: we collect the vehicle, take it wherever you need, and can keep it safely until you have arranged what comes next.
The area we cover.
This service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from our yard in Lunel, across the whole Pays de Lunel and into the neighbouring Gard.
- Lunel-Viel
- Marsillargues
- Saint-Just
- Valergues
- Lansargues
- Saturargues
Your questions about this service.
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Can I just call you from the hard shoulder?
No — and no recovery firm may legally come onto the motorway without being dispatched by the network operator. Use an orange emergency phone or dial 112. Once your vehicle is off the motorway, you are free to call whoever you like, including us.
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Which junction serves Lunel?
Junction 27 serves Lunel, Lunel-Viel and the Pays de Lunel. Junction 26, at Gallargues-le-Montueux, serves the eastern part of the area and the Gard border.
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Why is motorway recovery so expensive?
On French motorways the call-out fee and its night, weekend and public holiday surcharges are set by the State, identical for every approved operator. Off the motorway, the agreed price or accepted quote applies instead — which is usually far less.
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My car is now at a service area. What next?
Call us with the exact drop-off point. We collect it and take it to the garage of your choice, or store it at our yard in Lunel while you organise repairs or your journey home.
What else we do.
Need this service?
Stranded right now: call. Otherwise the online quote gets you an answer within the hour, between 8am and 6pm.