VIDEO. Holidays, like a freedom van!

It's a passion that has long been thought to be reserved for retirees, but which attracts an increasingly younger audience: holidays in a motorhome or campervan. Since the Covid crisis and the thirst for freedom that followed, sales have exploded. Today, these mobile homes represent more than half of the leisure vehicles sold in Europe. And France, the world's leading tourist destination, is seeing its roads invaded by these vans, +50% in ten years.

The automobile business is following suit. Near Saint-Brieuc, Antilope Van is one of the leaders in the fitting out of French vans. The company is just four years old and it already exceeds 30 million turnover. The concept: buy new Renault Trafics and transform them, in 90 hours, into habitable vans, with three or five beds, curtains sewn in Dinan and roof resin made in Anjou! Entrance price: 52,000 euros.

Nomadic life, a freedom... sometimes hindered

“Special Envoy” shared the lives of several addicts of the nomadic life, starting with its oldest followers, like Geneviève and Marc-Henri, both in their seventies, fifty years of camping behind them, converted to camper vans fifteen years ago. At the wheel of their 7.5 meter long vehicle, they tour the lakes of Haute-Savoie. But between the height barriers which prevent them from parking and the prohibitive prices of certain parking areas, the reception of leisure vehicles has changed a lot...

Emmanuel and Frédérique, in their fifties, have just taken the plunge. In November 2025, they invested 60,000 euros in a brand new camper van. On a long weekend on the Breton coast, they will discover if "van life" corresponds to the postcard myth. While they discover the joys of camping a few meters from the beach, they quickly realize that it is necessary to be very organized to live as a group of three in 4 square meters, especially if the weather is not good...

For some, “van life” is not just a hobby, it is a year-round way of life. On the networks, more than 20 million #vanlife, and among these profiles, Adenora, 27 years old. With her 80,000 subscribers on TikTok and 30,000 on Instagram, she shares the joys and struggles of her daring lifestyle: living alone in her van, with her cat, constantly moving around. But with the proliferation of municipal decrees which limit the parking of recreational vehicles, finding free places for the night is proving more and more difficult.

A report by Laure Delalex, Florent Bardos, Grégoire Manoukian and Mikael Bozo / France.tv Presse broadcast in “Envoyéspecial” on October 15, 2026.