In France you drive on the right, with the steering wheel on the left, and roundabouts go anticlockwise. At junctions without signs or road markings, traffic from your right goes first, even from a small side street.
Watch for fixed, mobile, average speed and red light cameras, and for unmarked camera cars. Earphones and headphones are banned while driving.
The most important first.
At a junction with no signs, lights or markings, traffic coming from your right goes first, even from a small side street. A red-bordered triangle with a black X warns of such a junction. On roads with yellow diamond signs you have priority until a diamond crossed by a black bar.
A red light means stop, whichever way you are turning. You may only pass a red light when a flashing amber arrow beside it points the way you are going. Running a red light costs €135, and red light cameras are never signposted.
Drivers may not wear anything in or on the ear that plays sound, including a single earbud or a Bluetooth headset, even for calls. Use the car's built-in system instead. The fine is €135.
In rain or other precipitation the limits drop to 110 km/h on autoroutes and 100 km/h on divided roads. When visibility is under 50 metres the limit is 50 km/h on every road.
Ordinary-looking cars, some driven by private companies, measure the speed of traffic around them while driving. Their flash is infrared, so you will not see it. They allow a margin of 10 km/h or 10 per cent.
Driving 50 km/h or more over the limit is a criminal offence (délit) from the first time, with a fine of up to €3,750, up to 3 months in prison and possible confiscation of the car.
Driving through the zone without stopping is banned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You may drive in if your trip starts or ends inside the zone. Where: Paris Centre, which is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements. The Grands Boulevards on the north side, the Île de la Cité, the Île Saint-Louis and the right-bank quays in the west to east direction are outside the zone. Fine: None yet. On 28 September 2026 the city said no fines were being issued during a teaching phase. Plan your route around the zone unless your trip starts or ends inside it.
Go anticlockwise and give way to traffic already on the roundabout, which comes from your left. Some older roundabouts have no give-way signs or markings at the entries. There, drivers on the roundabout must slow down and let entering traffic in.
Most Paris streets are 30 km/h and the boulevard périphérique is 50 km/h. At weekday peak times its left lane is reserved for vehicles carrying at least two people when a white diamond is lit. Through traffic is banned in the 1st to 4th arrondissements.
Phone and GPS apps may warn of danger zones, but not of exact camera positions. Radar detectors are illegal, with a fine of up to €1,500, and the device is seized.
The sign with the town's name on it sets the town limit by itself, usually with no speed sign. Limits drop when it rains.
On motorways, overtaking on the right is banned. Keep to the right-hand lane unless you're overtaking. Overtake on the left.
A Crit'Air sticker is compulsory to drive in a ZFE-m, and each zone bans older vehicles by sticker class on its own timetable. In Greater Paris, cars without a sticker or with Crit'Air 5, 4 or 3 cannot drive from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, except on public holidays. Parliament voted to abolish the zones, but the Constitutional Council struck that out on 21 May 2026, so they remain in force. Where: 25 urban areas, including Greater Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Lille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Aix-Marseille, Nice, Rouen and Bordeaux. Entry is marked by a zone sign (B56). Fine: €68 fixed fine, up to €450. Check that the hire car shows a Crit'Air sticker on the windscreen. For a foreign-registered car, order the sticker only from certificat-air.gouv.fr, the one official site.
From 1 November to 31 March, cars must have four winter tyres with the alpine symbol, or carry snow chains or snow socks for at least two driving wheels. Where: Designated communes in the Alps, Corsica, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Pyrenees and the Vosges, marked by entry and exit signs (B58 and B59). Ask the hire company for winter tyres or chains if you will drive into the mountains in winter.
Many autoroutes charge a toll. Most are paid at toll plazas, but the A79 and the Paris to Normandy A13 and A14 use free-flow tolling with no barriers. On free-flow sections, cameras and sensors record your plate when you enter and leave. Signs warn you about 2.5 km before the entrance. Without a toll tag, pay within 3 days of the trip on the operator's website (Aliae for the A79, Sanef for the A13 and A14) or by card or cash at a shop in the Nirio network. If you don't, fines of €90 and then €375 follow.
Every car must carry a hi-vis vest and a warning triangle. Wear the vest when you get out after a breakdown, and place the triangle at least 30 metres behind the car.
The blood alcohol limit is 0.05, and 0.02 for drivers on a probationary licence (permis probatoire), which is a first licence, usually held for 3 years or less, or one obtained again after cancellation. Learners in supervised driving have the same limit. The standard limit is 0.5 g/L of blood, or 0.25 mg/L of breath. The novice limit is 0.2 g/L of blood, or 0.10 mg/L of breath.
Where no sign says otherwise, in kilometres per hour.
The app animates all 8 junctions for France, including the ones above.
Open it in the appA junction ahead where you must give way to traffic coming from your right.
You are on a priority road. Traffic from side roads must give way to you at every junction.
End of the priority road.
Give way to traffic on the road you are joining. You do not have to stop if the way is clear.
Stop at the line, then give way.
Roundabout ahead. Where the entry has give-way signs, traffic already on the roundabout has priority.
Start of a built-up area. The 50 km/h limit applies from here unless signs show otherwise.
End of the built-up area and of the 50 km/h urban limit.
Maximum speed in km/h.
Fixed automatic speed cameras ahead.
A fixed speed camera ahead, and the limit it enforces.
No entry for any vehicle.
Fixed speed cameras are usually announced by signs, although the law does not require it. Red light and level crossing cameras, mobile radars and unmarked camera cars are never announced.
Radar fixe
Catches: Speeding. It measures each vehicle's speed as it passes, from the front or the rear, in one or both directions.
The first type installed in France, placed in the most dangerous areas. Double-face versions photograph the rear, so they also catch motorbikes.
Radar discriminant
Catches: Speeding by vehicle category. It tells lorries, cars and motorbikes apart, identifies the lane, and checks from the front and the rear.
It can pick out the offending vehicle when several appear in one photo.
Radar tronçon (radar vitesse moyenne)
Catches: Average speed over a section of road.
A camera with plate reading records each vehicle at the entry point. The offence is recorded at the exit point.
Every camera type in France, the warning signs and how fines reach you
| Licence from | Permit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| the EU, Ireland, Iceland | Not needed | Licences from EU and EEA countries are recognised for as long as they are valid. The holder must be at least 18 and must respect any medical conditions on the licence. |
| United Kingdom | Not needed | A UK photocard licence can be used without an IDP or translation. Holders of an old paper licence may need a photocard licence or an IDP. |
| Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Japan | Required | The licence must be written in French or come with an International Driving Permit or an official French translation. A translation made abroad must be legalised or apostilled. One made in France must be done by an approved translator or by the issuing country's embassy. A licence written in French needs neither. |
A Crit'Air sticker is compulsory to drive in a ZFE-m, and each zone bans older vehicles by sticker class on its own timetable. In Greater Paris, cars without a sticker or with Crit'Air 5, 4 or 3 cannot drive from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, except on public holidays. Parliament voted to abolish the zones, but the Constitutional Council struck that out on 21 May 2026, so they remain in force. Where: 25 urban areas, including Greater Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Lille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Aix-Marseille, Nice, Rouen and Bordeaux. Entry is marked by a zone sign (B56). Fine: €68 fixed fine, up to €450.
Tip: Check that the hire car shows a Crit'Air sticker on the windscreen. For a foreign-registered car, order the sticker only from certificat-air.gouv.fr, the one official site.
Driving through the zone without stopping is banned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You may drive in if your trip starts or ends inside the zone. Where: Paris Centre, which is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements. The Grands Boulevards on the north side, the Île de la Cité, the Île Saint-Louis and the right-bank quays in the west to east direction are outside the zone. Fine: None yet. On 28 September 2026 the city said no fines were being issued during a teaching phase.
Tip: Plan your route around the zone unless your trip starts or ends inside it.
From 1 November to 31 March, cars must have four winter tyres with the alpine symbol, or carry snow chains or snow socks for at least two driving wheels. Where: Designated communes in the Alps, Corsica, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Pyrenees and the Vosges, marked by entry and exit signs (B58 and B59).
Tip: Ask the hire company for winter tyres or chains if you will drive into the mountains in winter.
Many autoroutes charge a toll. Most are paid at toll plazas, but the A79 and the Paris to Normandy A13 and A14 use free-flow tolling with no barriers.
| At the pump | Means |
|---|---|
| Gazole | Diesel Easy to get wrong |
| SP95 / SP98 | Unleaded petrol, labelled E5 |
| SP95-E10 | Unleaded petrol, labelled E10 |
| Superéthanol E85 | High-ethanol fuel, labelled E85. Check your car is compatible before using it. Easy to get wrong |
| GPL | LPG, labelled LPG |
Most streets are limited to 30 km/h. Exceptions kept at 50 km/h include the Maréchaux boulevards, the Champs-Élysées and avenue Foch.
The boulevard périphérique ring road has been limited to 50 km/h since October 2024.
On weekdays from 7am to 10.30am and 4pm to 8pm, the périphérique's left lane is reserved when a white diamond is lit. It is for vehicles carrying at least two people, buses, coaches, taxis and some others. Cameras check occupancy, and the fine is €135.
Parts of the A1 and A13 into Paris have lanes for vehicles with at least two people at weekday peak times, outside school holidays.
Through traffic is banned in the 1st to 4th arrondissements (Paris Centre). No fines were being issued as of 28 September 2026.
Greater Paris is a low emission zone. Cars without a Crit'Air sticker or with Crit'Air 5, 4 or 3 cannot drive there on weekdays from 8am to 8pm.
The Lyon metropolitan area is a low emission zone. Cars without a Crit'Air sticker or with Crit'Air 5, 4 or 3 are banned.
From 2028, Crit'Air 2 cars will also be banned in the central area.
The Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan area is a low emission zone. Cars without a Crit'Air sticker or with Crit'Air 5 are banned.
Only if your licence was issued outside the EU and EEA and is not written in French. You then need an International Driving Permit or an official French translation. UK photocard licences do not need one.
No. A red light means stop, unless a flashing amber arrow beside it points the way you are going.
No. It has not been compulsory since 22 May 2020. You must carry a hi-vis vest and a warning triangle.
130 km/h, or 110 km/h in rain. Probationary drivers are limited to 110 km/h.
0.5 g/L of blood (0.25 mg/L of breath). It is 0.2 g/L for probationary licence holders.
Not straight through. The 1st to 4th arrondissements are a limited traffic zone, and you may only drive in if your trip starts or ends there.
Pay within 3 days on the operator's website (Aliae for the A79, Sanef for the A13 and A14) or at a Nirio shop, using your plate number. With a toll tag it is charged automatically.
Yes, if they warn of danger zones rather than exact camera positions. Radar detectors are illegal, with a fine of up to €1,500.
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Checked 15 October 2026. Official sources first.