French exception

[Angelo Farina]

This site says completely different things than you state:.

Scuba diving in France: things to know before you go

This post may contain affiliate links. It means I may earn a commission if you book or purchase something. This is at no cost to you and support this website. Learn more here. Like many things, the French like to do it differently. Scuba diving is, unfortunately, one of those things that don’t...

worldadventuredivers.com

So i think you will be good to go (with a guide) to do proper dives up to 40m.

I think that @dodi was speaking about CMAS-certified divers operating in clubs for no profit, whilst the article you posted is written form a PADi DM - of course two entirely different worlds...
For people outside the CMAS (or BSAC) community it is really hard to understand this "other way" of diving...

 

[ABCdivepro]

This site says completely different things than you state:.

Scuba diving in France: things to know before you go

This post may contain affiliate links. It means I may earn a commission if you book or purchase something. This is at no cost to you and support this website. Learn more here. Like many things, the French like to do it differently. Scuba diving is, unfortunately, one of those things that don’t...

worldadventuredivers.com

So i think you will be good to go (with a guide) to do proper dives up to 40m.

Unless you have official French recognized certification (typ FFESSM) your abilities/certifications and the dive is completely at the discretion of the dive company and guide/instructor taking you diving. Nobody will take you to 60mtrs on air, it is beyond O2 toxicity MOD. With AOW + deep you may be allowed to dive up to the max 40mtrs, but usually not over 30mtrs. Things get simpler if you hold divemaster, held in higher regard vs. lesser rec quals. The European ISO 24801 standards used for equivalencies and content for OWD, Divemaster/Guide, Instructor don't include deco, deep specialty, or even advanced/AOWD, so the FFESSM level 2 limit of 20mtrs (up to 40mtrs with a guide/instructor) only correspond to AOW+deep at discretion of the guide/instructor.

 

[Redtwo]

I

I think that @dodi was speaking about CMAS-certified divers operating in clubs for no profit, whilst the article you posted is written form a PADi DM - of course two entirely different worlds...
For people outside the CMAS (or BSAC) community it is really hard to understand this "other way" of diving...

I Agree, but he made it (in my opinion) sound like this is the truth for all of france, and that as he, as a DM, would visit france wouldnt be able to do dives more than 20m. And that is not true i think.

 

[Dody]

I actually dived in France last month in Marseille. Chilly waters. Anyway, it was with a club that was both FFESSM and US agencies oriented. I was able to dive to 40 m with a buddy that was both FFESSM Level 3 and PADI DiveMaster. That’s fine with me.

This site says completely different things than you state:.

Scuba diving in France: things to know before you go

This post may contain affiliate links. It means I may earn a commission if you book or purchase something. This is at no cost to you and support this website. Learn more here. Like many things, the French like to do it differently. Scuba diving is, unfortunately, one of those things that don’t...

worldadventuredivers.com

So i think you will be good to go (with a guide) to do proper dives up to 40m.

 

[ABCdivepro]

Took a re-look at the actual french law (attached), that applies to dive companies and instructors. It states dive "clients" are allowed to dive air up to 60 mtrs without deco requirement, if suitably qualified with FFESSM, FSGT, UCPA, ANMP, SNMP or CMAS.

CMAS 2 star is required for 20mtrs upto 40 mtrs, equivalent to Rescue diver. Deep specialty or AOW are not mentioned as there is no agreed international course standard or CMAS equivalent.

This means dive companies are not legally allowed to take divers with AOW + deep beyond 20 mtrs, regardless of the guide/instructor.

A French dive company/guide/instructor taking diver beyond 20mtrs with only AOW+deep is breaking the law, and liable in case of an accident. French law does not recognize liability waiver - the typical DTO disclaimer statement students must sign are not worth the paper they're written on in France, it's a lawyer's paradise.

Worth noting the law doesn't apply to private diving, pretty much do what you want at your own risk. But LDS mostly won't hire you tanks, whereas some national chains will provide hire and fill without any requirements.

Good takeaway to prioritise getting dive certifications that comply with international standards if you plan to travel+dive.

 

[JMarc]

I'm on my phone and my typing skills are not up towards to do a text analysis. I can do that if required when I get to my desktop and true keyboard.

Usin mymemory of the text I think you are mistaken an muss the difference between brevets, qualifications and capacités. My understanding:
- the zone between 40m an 60m on air, with with or without deco, is reserved to CMAS*** or French PE60 and PA60 (PE60 need to be with an instructor of adequate level, I don't remember which from memory) as long as the dive director thinks your skills are up to date fir the current conditions
- over 40m, with or without deco, is allowed to holders of adequate French or CMAS qualifications as long as the dive director thinks your skills are up to date for the current conditions
- for people without such certifications, the dive director is allowed to give a temporary qualifications upon their own judgment, using factors such as other certifications, dive log, try out dives,...I've seen routinely OW given PA20 and AWO given PA40 (obviously the DR has also to estimate

Note that up to very conditions dependent. Come in visibly drunk and you'll not be allowed to dive.

Note that in general the french law makes a difference between informed consent and responsibility waiver. The later is not allowed and my understanding is that judges have already considered them (perhaps not i diving contexts) as trying to escape from your responsibilities and thus reason for harsher punishment. Likewise professionals have unwaivable responsibilities when contracting with the general public they don't have with other professionals.

 

[berndo]

Hey, @JMarc and @SYdive can you recommend any good shore dives east or Marseille were you can park close to the water and are OK for when the weather is not so good?

Sorry for the OT question.

 

[JMarc]

Hey, @JMarc and @SYdive can you recommend any good shore dives east or Marseille were you can park close to the water and are OK for when the weather is not so good?

Sorry for the OT question.

I'm sorry not. I've stopped diving for more that 20 years and when I started again I've estimated that if diving was needed for my mental health, I was to old and to responsible towards my motherless children to do without people on surface with first aid skills and supplies ready to act and call additional help if anything happened during my dive. So no shore dives with just a friend like we used to do before.

 

[admikar]

I would never have dared taking all those thousands of tourists to some of our wrecks, imagine how lucky I was that nobody died.

Take me, take me!
When I got my CMAS 3*, standards stated up to 1.4 pPO2 and back gas deco. It still says the same.

 

[tursiops]

Padi created recreational diving

Myth