Most of us have been there - a wide, straight, smooth, seemingly safe and eerily remote French motorway that almost invites you to put your foot down. There's barely a handful of other vehicles around and no sign of speed cameras or traffic cops. There's even a suspicion that such autoroutes aren't policed due to a shortage of road users - never mind law breakers - to justify putting officers on the front line.
But nothing could be further from the truth. The French police are now issuing warnings in the clearest, most uncompromising terms that motorists driving illegally in their country will be identified, apprehended and ordered to pay on-the-spot fines of at least 135 euros (£104) in hard local currency.
You might consider yourself fortunate to be relieved of such comparatively small sum. Should your offence be more serious - 181kph (112.5mph) on a motorway with a 130kph (80.8mph) limit, for example – you can expect a 1,500 euro (£1,159) fine. Dare to drive without insurance and your fine will be 3,750 euros (£2,898). Driving without a licence attracts a fine of 15,000 euros (£11,592). Some offences lead to three-year driving bans and/or the seizure of vehicles and even 12-month prison sentences. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs attracts fines of thousands of euros and even longer sentences; similar punishments are administered to those who refuse to take breathalyser or drug tests.
It gets worse. Exceeding the speed limit by 51kph (31.7mph) and causing an accident that puts somebody out of work for three months will cost you 75,000 euros (£57,960) in fines and possibly the loss of your car, a 10-year driving ban and five years behind bars. The French are also pushing for a change in EU law so that, from 2010, penalty points for offences committed on French roads would be added to the driving licences of foreign motorists.
None of this will come as a total surprise to seasoned travellers who for years have had their collars felt and their wallets emptied en route to French holiday destinations or the Le Mans 24 Hours race. But I doubt that many British drivers are aware of all the offences that can be punished by on-the-spot penalties. Not carrying a warning triangle in the boot and a high visibility jacket in the cabin (preferably under the driving seat) are two recently introduced examples. But you can also be fined heavily and banned for several years for "failure to maintain a safe distance", specifically 130 metres (142 yards) when travelling at 130kph.
You should already be aware that French motorways have lower speed limits (110kph, or 68.4mph) in wet weather. But were you aware that when visibility is down to 50 metres, the permitted top speed is only 50kph (31mph)? Ignorance of the law will not help you escape a fine, and French traffic cops are cranking-up their enforcement/punishment efforts. They have always been as tough as the massive boots they wear, but they're getting tougher still. Respect them, abide by local traffic laws, remind yourself that they're introducing more and more speed cameras and you should be OK. Disprespect them, and you'll be clobbered. It's a message they're keen to get across and to that end I was recently invited to join a group of British police officers as they met their Gallic counterparts on French soil.
Never forget that the Gendarmerie Nationale is not a bunch of friendly bobbies but a military police force numbering well over 100,000, many of whom live in army-style barracks. They cover 90 per cent of French territory, they have an annual budget of eight billion euros at their disposal (more than £6billion) and their clout is immeasurably large. Their official symbol is not an olive branch of peace but a grenade of war.
They're big on physical presence too, as demonstrated by Chief Francois Maquinghen when he, his police motorcycle, his police car and a police van loaded with lower-ranked gendarmes met me at our meeting point alongside the autoroute near Calais.
Despite the language barriers, Maquinghen has no trouble making himself understood. "In days gone by there may have been some discretion when a driver was speeding. If he did, say, 145-150kph [90-93mph] when he should have been doing 130... you know," he said, shrugging like only a Frenchman can. "But now it's different. There is no discretion at all. You will be stopped if you drive at around 150kph."
And the punishment?
"Exceeding the speed limit by 20kph [12.4mph] means that you must pay me a fine of 135 euros [£104]. Every time. In return I give you a receipt. It's the same for everyone, everywhere in France. And before you ask, I do not earn a commission or bonus based on the number of tickets I issue."
One of the Chief's junior colleagues bravely interrupts and emphasises that on-the-spot fines are the "only solution" to the problem of speeding motorists. The Chief doesn't disagree.
So what happens if a motoerist genuinely disputes the allegations levelled against him?
"In France, under French law, and in my position, everything I say is the truth," says Maquinghen, bluntly. "There is no requirement for me to provide a driver with a photograph of himself breaking the law. We need no pictures, nothing! If he disputes that I am telling the truth, then he has to prove that I lied."
That would be a difficult if not impossible task, whether you'e dealing with the Chief or one of his armed colleagues at the roadside. If they say you're guilty, you're guilty.
"We accept only cash. Euros only. Or a Euro cheque. But not foreign currencies or credit cards," Maquinghen adds, helpfully.
But what if a driver is returning home from a long holiday has spent all his euros?
"If the relationship at the side of the road is good between him and us, we will help him find an ATM. We may take him to the cash point machine in our (but not his) car."
And if the relationship is not so good?
"He can take a taxi or walk to the ATM. He cannot drive his car until he has paid his fine."
Maquinghen insists that he knows of no case in which a driver talked his way out of paying-up, or of officers feeling so sorry for an offender that the financial punishment was waived. If you commit an offence, you pay, even if it means having the money electronically and expensively transferred by your bank or a helpful relative from the UK. The Chief recalls one driver who insisted that he couldn't and wouldn't pay and tried to prove it by sleeping in his car for three weeks. By week four he was not only fed up but increasingly concerned that his car or even his home could be seized and sold in order to meet the fine. So he paid.
"I understand that's it's not a happy moment for a driver when I stop him at the side of the road and tell him that a radar or other device has captured him and he has therefore committed a contravention," says Maquinghen. "He is probably a good guy in normal life. We arrive, he is scared. I would be scared. But he needn't be if he accepts he is guilty of a contravention and immediately pays his fine.
"Sometimes an unhappy driver throws the ticket on the ground. Or he resorts to bad words. But he cannot be unpolite. If he swears I arrest him. If he tells me to 'F*** off' that's a serious offence. More serious than a mere traffic contravention. You can't do it. I insist. And we carry handcuffs in case we meet resistance."
And guns...
"Yes we carry guns too. But to use mine I have to save a life," he declares.
He approves of my description of him as a firm but fair professional (with the emphasis on firm) and to show his appreciation he calmly stops eight lanes of autoroute traffic so that I can do a gendarme-approved U-turn rather than drive to the next junction and change direction in more conventional fashion. The move was almost as scary as the Chief himself. He didn't even wear the hi-vis vest that he requires ordinary motorists to carry.
The message was clear. Do exactly what the Gendarmerie Nationale tells you to do. Or else.
Here in SW france, as a previous thread remarked, there are regular and frequent road side checks, the up side being ,if you read the local newspapers they are all indicated beforehand!! I have been stopped twice without reason,breathylised, even though the first time I hadn't had a drink for over 24 hrs. ( none required as opposed to the U.K ) We started scaling down our traffic police officers in England some years ago to the detriment of everyone(more uninsured drivers).However this is also a big problem in France with similar levels I believe as it costs a lot of money to learn to drive here, consequently young people are tempted to not bother with a license!Remarkably there was a recent case some months ago where a French citizen successfully appealed against a prosecution against a certain type of portable radar device.He was adamant that he was not speeding at the speed stated(by a large margin) He researched the scene and discovered that the said radar gun had to be precisely a certain degree to the flow of traffic ,if not the reading could be wildly inaccurate!!
My only experience with the gendarmes was when France hosted the soccer world cup. A friend could not come to the Argentina-Croatia match and I was trying to sell his ticket - at face value - outside the stadium. A gendarme became extremely aggressive with me about it. I was sober and extremely polite, and I am a woman who is 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 8 stone. Hardly a drunken football hooligan. I accepted that it was not allowed to do what I was doing but there was no procedure to deal with unwanted tickets, I wasn't scalping and his aggression was completely unwarranted.
Perhaps British police should be harder on people driving without being licensed or insured. I'm almost fed up of seeing programmes like "Sky Cops" and individuals driving recklessly being given tiny sentences and driving bans which many seem not to follow anyway. Fine them heavily on the spot and take their vehicle. Foreign born drivers here seem to get away with it, unlike in Germany where I was stopped and fined for accidentally speeding near an interchange on the autobahn.
I ADORE the French cops, Ive only ONCE got a ticket from an over zealous one in a roadside check, - he said my UK driving licence was not valid for me, as resident in France. He Erred, Ive found nothing but enormous goodwill, politeness and kindness in all subsequent discussions about this, with the cops. (UK licences being valid for residents here until their date of UK expiry).
THANK HEAVENS they are more careful about drink driving than in UK - may they forever slam down as hard as they can on anyone so careless as to drink and take chances on French roads.
Dont any of you say one word against them.
'Quasi communist state!!!' HA!!what a load of bull.
Do the crime, do the time. What would say if someone breaking the traffic laws killed one of your loved ones? If you know the limits, then stick to them. There is no excuse.
If our UK Police were less stretched and hence could practise more "zero tolerance" as the French are, then perhaps we would have less casualties on our roads too. That would mean less family grievances, less burden on the NHS, less . . . . . . . fun? No, go wild on a track day if you want to, but keep is sensible on the roads, "never sacrifice safety for any other advantage".
I doubt very much whether this generation of French gendarmes would recognise the Horst Wessel Leid and if Andrew Milner were playing it on his car stereo loudly enough to be heard in the street I hope they would 'pull' him.
That said, as Brits resident in Normandy we can agree that you simply don't mess with French traffic police. French law and the judicial system are so far removed from anything a Brit may recognise (i.e. having any rights !) that one is wisest to simply comply; they would not cope with any resultant proceedings.
French police may be scruffy -looking, may smoke on duty, may be not-too-good at crime solving or keeping out illegals, but they have power on the streets - and for some of them it's why they get up in the morning.
The solution, as some of you have twigged, is keep within the law as they prescribe it - whether you agree with it, or them, or not.
Wouldn't touch Europe with the proverbial bargepole. Play "Horst Wessel Lied" on the car stereo and slammer time beckons. But then Napoleon (the famous brandy distiller) did ban la Marseillaise.
When you start from this end of the ranch, third-world Asia is the obvious choice, last playground of the English gentleman (generic). Not Islamic countries, naturally, although with Malaysia it�s more because of the awful food. So if food�s the big issue for you, try a former French colony. Fortunately, when the French were kicked out they left their recipes behind. Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam� spoilt for choice I dare say.
We liked Kevin Fletcher's remark about the close driving of French motorists. We always time how long it will take for a French car to hook itself onto our bumper when we return after a visit to Spain or the UK.They will need an army to regulate the number of offenders "tail hanging".
I wonder if some of what the Gendarmes were saying was lost in translation. Certainly most I have met do appear very stern, I have always taken this as they are trained to act in a 'No nonsense' manner and be professional. I should imagine that if they and their country is afforded the respect that is due then they will be fair. If the standard of justice meted out is dependent upon whether the Officer concerned lives in barracks or not then I would be gravely concerned for the French Nation. If the standard of justice administered is as a response to the transgression then can we really complain? It's their Country and their laws, if we want to drive there best we realise and accept that.
Oops, now I have fallen foul of the financial experts, as I mistakenly stated that 900 Francd was 50 Pounds. Of course it should be 90 Pounds.
I have lived in France on and off for 20 years. with homes in both the "Sud Ouest" and in Brittany. I have also spent a few years in Germany and have just returned home after 3 years living in Asia where murder, rape and police corruption were an everyday occurence. I like the idea of having a police force that is not afraid to flex its muscles and is not arbitrary in its application of the law.
I have been stopped only twice by the police in France. The first was for driving at 158 kph on the autoroute, and the second for running a changing traffic light. For speeding I was fined 900 Francs (about GBP 50) and for the second offence I received a verbal warning. On both occasions I was driving a French registered car. I was treated courteously, and in return was polite.
I have just holidayed in the sleepy Sud Ouest, and was very surprised to see frequent radar checks, and not only on sunny days!! Things are changing, as France has set itself a target to drastically reduce the number of deaths on the road.
To be stopped by a French policeman can be intimidating, as they all seem to be 6'13" tall and look as if they played in the front row for Toulouse. Also, as they don't necessarily speak English, the encounter can be difficult.
The crux of the matter is, that if you are in France, you need to obey the laws of France. The laws of dear old Blighty do not apply... and haven't since somewhere around the end of the 100 years war. If you have an issue with this, find another way to drive to Spain or wherever you want to go. Maybe one day we'll dig a tunnel from Plymouth to Santander.
No mention about the famouse 'STOP' sign scam.
French cops will hide near junctions and then accuse yo failing to entirly come to a halt at a STOP sign and unbroken white line. Then they suggest "euros 90 and we dont want to see your licence"
Nice little earner and you cant argue, they might dream up another crime or just shoot!
From the AA Website:
REFLECTIVE JACKETS & WARNING TRIANGLES IN FRANCE (30 September)
The French Road Safety Department has confirmed that:
From 1st October 2008 all drivers in France, including drivers of vehicles registered outside of France, must have one warning triangle and one reflective jacket in their vehicle.
This regulation, which we understand does not apply to two and three wheeled vehicles, will be enforced with on-the-spot fines of between �90 and �135.
Egger, 03.24 pm
The regulation is for one Hi Viz jacket, intended for the driver's use. Obviously a driver may wish to ensure that there are sufficient gilets for all potential passengers, but that isn't the legal requirement ! In the same breath the regulation requires the driver to carry a warning triangle, if it isn't an E27 R model then that too is breaking the law.
(BTW would someone kindly realise a 24hr clock should show 15.24hrs., there is no such time as 03.24 pm !! )
there must be a yellow jacket for each person in the car, not just one for the driver.
It's a shame the French don't enforce road traffic laws when some of their useless farmers block the roads with a few bales of hay. They just give it their usual Gallic shrug. So respect them? Not a chance.
It's a shame the French don't enforce road traffic laws when some of their useless farmers block the roads with a few bales of hay. They just give it their usual Gallic shrug. So respect them? Not a chance.
Lauren - - I wasn't condoning drink-driving, just pointing out that not all French police are un-bending.Of course drivers should not drink, just as I should not have been doing 68 in a 50 zone.
Great article Mike,I would dealy love to see that kind of enforecment here. Having lived most of my life in North America I am quite used to that kind of treatment at the side of the road, although it only happened on three occasions in 35 years. I am a firm believer in the fact that a police officer must not have the powers of discretion, if they see a law being broken then charge the offender, it makes for a far more just society. If a traffic officer returns to his station in Ontario with a hit on his radar set and no ticket to back it up then he/she had better be a good talker, either that or be prepared to get another job. I like zero tolerance, step out of line and you get clobbered.
I think the same rules should apply in the UK where most foreign drivers get away with murder, sometimes literally in LHD trucks. For Brit drivers with no car insurance or even a licence, the fines are so minimal that it's worth the risk rather than pay out a fortune for driving lessons and an insurance policy.
So let's really be part of the EU and embrace these French motoring laws as soon as possible. You never know, if it's successful our motorways would soon become as empty and free flowing as the French network.
Don't even think of wasting your time arguing with these people. As agents of a quasi-communist state they hold all the trump cards in a confrontation - and, boy, do they enjoy it!
Bring the the chief sub-ed of Diego Garcia.
The gendarmes are only a presence on the peages by and large. On the national routes you rarely see them.
Nothing to do with revenue collection from les estrangers and everything to do with road safety I'm sure.
C'est la vie. As we say en le Sud Ouest.
The police here do their job here , apprehend the offender. Unlike the UK where useless 'warnings' are the norm [but really a way of government's saving money.]I like the police here , they're there for me. I sleep soundly at night. The way things used to be in the UK.
I have worked in France, Germany and Belgium for most of the past 25 years and have never had any problems with the French Police. About the only argument I have had with them was for allowing the French Farmer to illegally blockade the roads to the Tunnel and not allow me through. Even then they were understanding and they did actually tell me an alternative route. All in all a force that (like the German police) is to be respected. And at least unlike the ham-strung British police they can actually punish all drivers who do wrong, not let off the foreign drivers with a warning.
To the French the law is in the hands of the police, in the UK the law seems to be in the hands of the Politically Correct brigade.
I've been driving in France for years - things used to be quite relaxed but now it's turning into a Police State. Let's hope our coppers don't read this jerk boasting of all his powers (I am always right, and zat ees zat) and demand the same, god 'elp us.
I, as also a French resident, confirm that the Gendarmes are firm but fair. I have had to pay up a couple of times but also been let off. The best was when I was pulled over for using a mobile. No argument, knew I was in the wrong and paid my fine, as explained, in cash. Unfortunately, the Gendarme didn't have any change. So, he waived down a passing motorist. She also didn't have change but offered to go home (just down the road)and get some. This she did and the now embarrased policemen gave me my change and receipt and let me on my way.
Kevin Fletcher - I would hardly rate being waved on your way after a drink or three as a positive experience...being allowed to drive whilst under the influence is nothing to be grateful for. Agree however that extreme closeness to the car in front is surely an unwritten rule in France; any bumper contact with the car in front or behind is trvialised as "just a little a kiss" - quite a sensible attitude!
We love France and the French and fully recognise warnings included in this article.
With cruise control on our car to ensure we stick to the speed limit! One of our favourite pastimes is cruising along the A26 towards St. Omer waiting for the Gendarmes to nip out from behind a bridge in their souped up ordinary looking blue Renault to catch those drivers in their large Mercedes! The embarrassment as they follow "Suivez-moi" at 50kph towards the Peage!
That's the French for you - if you visit their country you must learn and respect their customs!
Interesting article,but hardly accurate, as your mention of the unbending attitude of the Gendarmes paints an unfair picture. As a resident of France I have had nothing but positive experiences, including just being given a warning when stoped for speeding (68 in a 50 zone).
Maybe it is living in a very rural area but I have friends that have been waved on their way despite having had a drink or three.
The big suprise in your article was the news that you can be fined for not maintaining a safe distance behind the car in front. I have always assumed that there are special bonus points in the French driving test if the pupil can manage to maintain a distance of no more than 30 cms.
Aaargh! Me too.
Is there a shortage of proof readers there at The Telegraph?
I have rarely seen quite so many published spelling and typing arrors and such glaring number-blindness outside of a student magazine.
da is right. Currency fluctuations are wild at the moment.
For example, at the start of one sentence in the above piece, 1,500 euros was 1,159 pounds. By the end of the sentence, that same 1,159 pounds had rocketed ten-fold and was worth fifteen THOUSAND euros.
And that eight trillion euro budget would sort out most of the world's current economic mess. If only the gendarmes would kindly hand it over.
da is right. Currency fluctuations are wild at the moment.
For example, at the start of one sentence in the above piece, 1,500 euros was 1,159 pounds. By the end of the sentence, that same 1,159 pounds had rocketed ten-fold and was worth fifteen THOUSAND euros.
And that eight trillion euro budget would sort out most of the world's current economic mess. If only the gendarmes would kindly hand it over.
In Czech Republic you can get one or more 'tickets' just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you WILL NOT get a receipt. They're so badly paid, evidently, that this is how they make up their salary. Once in france I was stopped for 'clipping' a solid white line,-not true, but hey. The ******* 'officer' took nearly TWO HOURS writing a load of tosh in his notebook, including "Your mither's maidon nerm?" Not a user friendly place for motorists, even worse than Great Britain, with heavier, vicious fines for trivial 'offences'. Recently, in Germany, cruising at 130mph I was miffed to run out of autobahn all too soon, and, back on ordinary A roads, had to crawl on at about 70, through friendly Holland and home. Moral? avoid France or be VERY careful.
Only a fool effs and blinds at a policeman who has stopped you in France. The French do it all the time and get stamped on, be polite and obliging (even if they are as rude as hell) and you might even be let off as a result!
It is stupid to write that E 135 = Pnds 104.32.
Maybe it did for three minutes on Monday afternoon but now it's different. Use commonsense and just say Pnds 105
The writer does seem to have problems with numbers. A budget of E 8,000 billion really would be quite extraordinary. Why don't you check your article before submission >