What do you need to know about driving in France?

Most people moving to France will have driven on the continent on holiday or when coming to view houses. It’s not really very different, other than obviously one drives ‘on the wrong side of the road’ :)

There are a few points to remember, however:

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On the whole, the old, infamous French system of ‘’Priorité à droite’ or ‘give way to the right’ has nearly been done away with, thankfully - but not quite! In theory it’s still in force if there are no markings or signs otherwise. It’s no longer used on roundabouts, although there are sometimes junctions with circles in the road where priority is not marked. Drivers usually treat these as ‘normal’ roundabouts but not always, so be on your guard. So, on a roundabout, you normally give way to the traffic already on the roundabout, same as in the UK, except obviously the traffic has to go the other way round!

‘Priorité à droite’ IS however the law and DOES still exist in places, and it’s important that you recognise them. If a junction has no clear markings, if a side road coming onto a main road has no ‘stop’ or ‘céder le passage’ sign and there are no markings on the road, particularly in towns, this means that the driver on the side road has the priority and is within his or her rights to drive straight out in front of you! So it’s a case of being aware of this, being on the look out for side roads with no markings, and being prepared to stop sharpish if you get caught out.
Traffic lights, ‘un feu rouge’ go from red directly to green. When stopping it’s the same as in the UK, you should stop on amber before it turns to red. Cameras are becoming increasingly common on traffic lights and if caught by you get a fine in the post a few days afterwards.
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Speed restrictions are usually clearly marked. All however are reduced by 10km / hour if it’s raining and this is not signed other than on autoroutes. The national speed limit on ordinary roads is 90km/hour. When entering a town or village the sign saying the name of the town, a white panel with a red border, doubles as an indication that it’s a 50km an hour zone, unless otherwise marked. Similarly, when you leave the town or village and pass the town’s name with a black diagonal line through it, this indicates the end of the 50km/hour zone. Usually the speed limit returns to the national limit of 90km/hour. Sometimes there’s a 70km/hour zone before and/or afterwards but these are always marked. Speed limits for cars on autoroutes are 130km/hour, or 110km/hour when it’s raining.

When you see 'rappel' - it means 'reminder', as in the image on the left.

Speed cameras and gendarmerie speed traps are common and may or may not be signalled in advance. Be aware that if you’re caught travelling at more than 25km/hour over the limit you can have your licence taken on the spot. If you’re in a foreign registered vehicle and/or with a foreign licence, you may also be escorted to the nearest cash machine and have to pay an on the spot fine.

You need to be especially careful when pulling out, say from a service station or restaurant. Or having stopped in a layby on a small road for example. In these cases, especially if you’re tired, it’s easy to forget to drive on the right - until you meet something else coming the other way on the same side of the road!

Be aware too that your normal reaction in case of danger might well be to go ‘the wrong way’, ie automatically steer to left if you see an oncoming vehicle, rather than to the right.
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Drinking and driving laws are stricter in France than the UK, 0.5mg/ml of blood rather than 0.8mg/ml. Random breath tests are allowed.

Seatbelts should be worn at all times in the front and in the back. Gendarmes WILL stop you if they see anyone in the car without a seatbelt.

You should also carry, at all times, fluorescent waistcoats for driver and passenger and a red reflective triangle. It's an offence if you're checked and caught without them.
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Driving licences

Bit a complicated subject this, but in general you can drive in France with a valid UK licence and drive the same categories as you were able to drive in the UK. Despite what the gendarmes may tell you, you DO NOT have to change your licence for a French one when you move here unless it either expires or you are convicted of an offence involving ‘points’ Note that whereas in the UK you have points added to your licence, in France you normally have twelve and then have points deducted for offences.

One exception to this is towing trailers. No matter what your UK licence entitles you to tow, this is overruled by the general French trailer laws. Basically you can tow a heavy trailer/caravan with a UK registered car and the trailer/caravan has to have the same number plate as the towing vehicle. If driving a French car, the trailer must carry the same registration number as the car as long as it’s total laden weight is less than 500kg. Over that and the trailer/caravan has to have it’s own ‘carte grise’ . There are rules too about the weight of the trailer in relation to the weight of the towing vehicle - a web search will be needed if you’re not sure.

I’ll add a section or a new page about importing vehicles to France, rules for registering the MOT (not quite) equivalent, the ‘controle technique’ in future.... in the meantime google is your friend :)