DRIVING IN FRANCE
DRIVING LICENCES*
Citizens from an EU member state are not obliged to exchange their licence for a French one. However, if you commit an offence you will have to surrender it to allow the penalty points to be retracted. Those from outside Europe must exchange their license for a French one. Australian and South African citizens come under the same EU laws, but if you want to exchange it then it should be done in the fi rst 12 months of residency.
Canadian citizens with licences issued in Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador and Ontario may drive on these for one year and then exchange them. For US citizens it depends on the state. For example, those from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia need to apply for a French licence three months before the fi rst year of residency ends. Others may need to take a French driving test within the fi rst year. To make the exchange, apply to the local Préfecture for the form Cerfa no 11247*02 demande d’échange de permis de conduire. All the documents required are listed on the form. Monaco: new residents to Monaco need to exchange their driving licence within three months of arrival. Some US citizens may need to take a test. Registration: It is not mandatory to register a foreign vehicle in France unless the owner is resident in France (at least 183 days per year) or employed here.
RULES IN FRANCE
- By law the driving licence, carte grise (car registration papers) and insurance documents should be in the car when you are driving.
- By law you must carry a red warning triangle and spare light bulbs and, as in Italy, a refl ective vest clearly visible inside your car (not in the boot). As the driver, you will be fi ned if a member of your party steps out of the car when stopped on the hard shoulder of the motorway without one.
- It is advisable to have a Constat Aimiable d’Accident (accident report form) in your glove compartment. The constat is an agreed statement of facts of the accident, to be fi lled out at the scene of the accident. Information required includes: place of accident, names of witnesses, names of drivers and driver licences and details of the insurers. It does not establish blame. If there is disagreement over the facts or injury, the police should be called.
- It is obligatory for cars to have third party liability car insurance (other motor insurance: fi re, theft, vandalism is optional).
- Only children over 10 or babies in a rear-facing seat are allowed in the front seat
- Seat belts are compulsory (not yet in Monaco)
- Drink-driving limit is set at 0.5mg/l of blood
- Speed limits for cars are as follows:
Motorway 130kmph - 110 kmph when wet
Dual carriageways - 110kmph or 100kmph
Regional roads - 90 kmph or 80 kmph
Urban areas - 50kmph
DRIVER PENALTY SYSTEM
Learners who pass a driving test in France are given a licence for three years with six points on it. Provided these remain intact it is then upgraded to 12. Points are deducted for offences, and can be reinstated after three years if no further offences are committed. Lost points can also be reinstated by taking an awareness course or sensibilisation à la sécurité routière. The ratio of fi nes and deduction of points vary with the offence but are very strict. A young driver only has to be caught once over the drink-drive limit to lose all six points and his licence.
PRIORITÉ À DROITE
A cause of confusion for many foreigners is the priority that vehicles coming from the right have unless it is clearly indicated by a stop sign or solid give-way line. It is much less common on the Riviera than it was, but do be aware of it and keep an eye out for the signs.
*Agreements between countries can change
