I think it is to be honest. As @Ann_Cook mentions:
and we the same with our Revolut card at the ATM at our Banque Populaire branch.
As Caxton correctly told you, this charge is levied by the ATM operator - in this case CA.
Just goes to show… probably best to check where to use the Cards without charges, before zapping them into any old ATM.
In the days of Barclaycard (well before moving here)… we knew which ATM’s to look out for and would drive slowly to find the one we needed.
Even so, we all make mistakes. I remember dashing into a building waving my Barclaycard to use an ATM (somewhere, lost in France), only to be told that it was for “Customers Only”. I felt totally stupid and went as red as a beetroot and slunk away… 
IIRC at the large shopping malls, each ATM machines used to have a sign indicating which cards could be used (for free)… no idea if that is still the case. We couldn’t use our BCard in just any old ATM even at Leclerc etc… in those far off days.
Generally, the ATM will tell you before you commit to the transaction that there will be a fee allowing you to cancel if not content to proceed.
The only other thing to be wary of - whether an ATM you use regularly or not - is to check to make sure that it has not been nobbled with a card skimmer - there are plenty of clues listed elsewhere on the web to look out for without repeating them here.
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The point is that there’s no way to do this really in this case, CA introduced this charge at the start of the year with no mention at all anywhere. Only now is it starting to get some press as people are ‘joining the dots’ so to speak, there has to the best of my knowledge still not actually been any official word from CA. In one sense why would there be? It’s bad news for customers so companies tend not to like shouting about it, and the change only affects a small number of users, but I think it’s the underhanded way it’s been slipped in that’s the issue. Residents here can probably find another machine to use, tourists and such may not know where other banks are or how they can get cash out, and so will likely just accept the charge which is only told to you at the last stage before the cash is dispensed. It’s very poor behaviour really and makes me think so much less of CA.
I thought that with Wise (for example) one can check where (abroad) and under what circumstances the card can be used… sure I’ve seen something recently…
EDIT: next time I visit my CA Branch I’ll ask them about this sort of thing.
If I have recalled the details correctly:
Wise Border Account card in £
ATM at CA charged 5€ to provide 20€ cash without giving advance warning of this charge (which would have allowed the customer to cancel the demand).
@Ann_Cook is this correct??
It seems that CA charges were certainly brought to our attention in January 2022
EDIT: I’m in the middle of baking and this has been running through my head. Now I’m wondering if CA have done this deliberately to deter their ATM’s being depleted of cash by Visitors (whatever) which might leave their own clients high and dry…
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CA also charge €5 for using euro currency cards, but you do have the option not to proceed/ to cancel the transaction
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that is our experience too… anything else would be unforgivable…
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That is a very kind thought @Stella, but I doubt they give a flying fig about their own clients having enough cash, they’ve done it because 100,000x 0€= 0€ but 100,000x5= half a million euros they now have for doing absolutely nothing other than changing a line of code on their ATM software, and to a minority of customers so it will likely never draw the attention of the press in France or local customers. Half a million euros is pocket change to CA, but as someone once said, Every little helps!
(these figures are completely made up to illustrate the point, I’ve no idea how many transactions we’re talking about, and so how much money they’ll make from this, it may be ten times that, or half that for all I know)
CA will only make money if folk are liable to the charges…
and there’s no need for Visitors (from wherever) to use CA… they can use other ATM’s.
EDIT: didn’t mean that to sound terse… I’ve been caught by charges in previous years… and learned the lesson. It’s annoying, but sometimes when we need cash, right now, we have to take whatever is at hand…
I have been to two places recently where there is only one ATM, and in both cases it was a CA one since they, around here at least, seem to be the ‘last bank standing’ in many villages and small towns. If you’re on holiday do you really want to be spending your days searching around for places with an ATM? Probably not so you’ll have to cough up there and then. As with cheques I’d have no problem not using cash, in fact as I’ve already said, I use Apple Pay for almost everything now, cash, cheques, and even physical cards are generally a thing of the past for me, but I realise that not everyone is like that and it’s important that people have free access to cash. Charging someone 5€ to withdraw 10€ is a rip off however you look at it, and however warm and fuzzy your feelings are towards CA it’s shameful.
At the very least it should be a percent of the transaction, perhaps with a minimum 1€ fee or something, that way they’re more than covering their costs and if you’re taking out a lot of money it may actually be more than €5, if you’re only taking out a little, maybe to buy some ice creams or a baguette you’re not ending up paying a 5€ fee to get a 1€ loaf!
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Another thought… perhaps the 5€ charge is to encourage Visiting folk to take a reasonable sum, just the one time… rather than lots of little transactions… ??
nah… it’s just blatant profiteering and an attempt to screw over people who are in a rush and don’t notice the warning on the screen - or the screen is obscured by sunlight 
Yes Stella I had the option to cancel the transaction, but it wasn’t an option for me as I would have to drive all the way to Leclerc
as thought to be the case 
simple economics… did the 5€ fee exceed the cost of the fuel to go the extra distance 
Just thought it would be easier to pop down to the local village, where I knew there was a CA, but fuel cost also came into it
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Ah… thanks for the reply. Now there’s no need for me to ask at CA next time I’m in there.
I was concerned that the Cancel Option (which should be available) was not offered… which would have been disconcerting to say the least.
I’m sure most of us have been in a pickle with Foreign Exchange at one time or another, over the years… it’s a learning curve.
Thankfully, having a French bank account gives me access to my cheque book… so if I don’t have cash I write a cheque. Is this something which might work for you ??
No, some other banks charge, eg Credit Mutuel…but i tried Credit Maritime this morning
(machine so noisy sounded like it was driven by clockwork) and no charges.
Yes, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to, since Brexit it seems that certain banks are now taking the new found option of charging users of “third country” issued cards.
That’s not a wind-up is it 
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