What tourists need to know before driving in France

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Bonjour Diane, I am from Canada (driving is pretty similar to USA), but I frequently drive in France and here are a few differences I observed that you have not mentioned: (1) secondary roads are much narrower with almost no shoulders; (2) the centerlines are white and not orange/yellow; (3) many roads and streets, especially in small villages, are not lit at all at night; (4) tolerances on speed limits are almost 0, so a limit of 50 km/h is 50 and not 55 or 59; (5) when you enter a town, although there might be no speed limit indicated, as soon as you see the town name, you have to slow down to 50 km/h; (6) in towns, curb parking can be in either direction so on your right hand side, you sometimes see cars facing you (which confused me into thinking I was going in the wrong direction in a one way at the beginning); (7) many narrow streets are not one way streets, but one direction has priority over the other one and you have to give way if you do not have priority; (8) cars often park on sidewalks when streets are very narrow; (8) in France, you'll never see someone driving in the left lane on the autoroute when there is nobody in the right lane (contrary to Canada or USA); (9) you cannot eat or drink while driving in France; and (10) as soon as pedestrians put their foot on the asphalt at the pedestrian crossing, cars in both directions immediately stop.

Drive for 16 days in France in 2015 and was shocked how easy and pleasant it was. Got to see small towns and villages and the roads were awesome. We bought a Garmin GPS that had both North American and European maps and it was flawless. Really great investment. Can’t wait to go back. France has my heart.

Bonjour Diane, I love your channel. I'm a retired Dutch police officer. I visited France for the first time when I was 12 years old. I'm from Amsterdam and we went on vacation with 2 families, 4 adults and 4 kids in 1 VW minibus :-) that was in 1965. When I got a car and a driving licence in 1977 I started camping in France together with my wife. There were no "rond points" in those years. The last 20 years we camped with a caravan all over France, since my retirement 7-8 weeks in the summer. J'aime La France. Driving in France is not diffrent then driving in countries in the rest of Europe including Czech Republic and Poland. The thing I missed in your driving video are the standard speed limits on the "routes national" (80 km/h since 2019) and within city limits (50 km/h). Every year I have to push myself when I enter France to be aware of the city limit signs with the name of the village on it. They are totally diffrent in The Netherlands and have no max speed on them, but imply a max speed of 50km/k. The other thing are the "antique" chemical alcohol tests. Yes I have them too in my car in France.:-) I worked with those tests in the police till about 1980. We then got electronic testers. I took literally hundreds of those tests on people driving. We always joked about those things. When it is very hot the tube already colored with the slightest amount of alcohol. When freezing cold even a very drunk person was unable to color the crystals. They are totally useless and I don't understand why the French lawmakers introduced these things. As for you when you did the test. There is scientific diffrence between male and female in reaction to alcohol. Women are sooner intoxicated then men. Als when you are tired your body doesn't do a good job breaking down alcohol. When you start drinking on an empty stomach the alcohol will be absorbed by the stomach instantly, making your blood alcohol instantly high. When your stomach is food filled before you start drinking the alcohol will be diluted by the food in the stomach and the alcohol will take much longer to get in to the body. Your body will brake down app 1 alcohol consumtion per hour. That happens simultaniously so your blood alcohol will stay low. So NEVER drink on an empty stomach unless you want the get drunk very quick.

Be careful about the "rond-points"! Most of them have priority to the left (to people already on the ring) and they're called "carrefours giratoires" but in Paris (Place de la Concorde) those are true "rond-points", so the priority goes to the right (to people ENTERING the ring). The best option would be not to drive in Paris anyway. Public transportation perfectly do the job, it's really hard to find somewhere to park and parking is very expensive. Parisians are really angry on the road so if you're not very confident on French roads, don't drive in Paris. (Most of French refuse to drive in Paris for these reasons). If you rent a car in France, especially if you're from the US, be aware that lots of cars here are diesel. Even tiny cars like Peugeot 208, VW Polo, can be diesel. The bigger the car is, the more likely it is to be diesel. Diane's Juke is a diesel. There's almost no petrol SUV or crossover here. If there's any badge containing a "d" on the car, it's probably diesel. Watch out for TDI, dCi, CDTI, dT, dTi, TDCi, HDi, JTD, d, CDI, etc. badges when you're at the gas station.

These rules are typical for most of Europe, not only France. As a Swiss driver, I can drive in France without learning anything particular

As a French person, I think your video is the best I have seen on that topic. I would add : be careful that in bigger cities, many drivers will have a more agressive driving style. On the other hand, in some usually jammed intersections, every driver who have right of way will let one car from the other street cut in front of them to merge and ease traffic.

Hello, french driving instructor here. There are some things that need clarifications. Traffic circles are « carrefour a sens giratoire » usually you have a yeld sign while entering them so you need to look left. « Rond-Points » do not have a yeld sign at the entrance, it’s « priorité à droite » you give way to the right. Meaning you have the way while entering them. You need a High visibility vest, it doesn’t have to be yellow. Also if you go ahead of the traffic light, you went through and will be pulled over. Priorité à droite means give way to the right. 9:42 you need to yield to the person coming from your right. If there was a street coming from your left, cars coming from there yield to you (you’re on their right side). Speeds : in towns default speed limit is 50km/h Out of towns : 80km/h Fast lanes : 110km/h when dry, 100km/h in the rain Autoroute : 130km/h when dry,110km/h in the rain. About the signs : 14:04 means yield to the right on next crossroad. (You might be the one on the right). It does not say if you have priority or not. Also 14:12 tells you you’re entering a town, therefore speed limit to 50km/h apply (unless there’s a speed sign that says different.). Other than that, nice video.

Personnally I take gas before or after the autoroute whenever possible, because it's less expensive !

When driving on the Auto Route, NEVER stay in the left (high speed) lane. We Americans tend to cruise in the left lane of the highway. I tried passing three cars, but apparently stayed in the passing lane a little too long. I had a cranky driver behind me. Also, I love the automated "people at work" signs.

Intersections with traffic lights have been steadily replaced by roundabouts over the past decades. When I was a child there was only 1 of them in my hometown. Now there are at least 10 of them. By the way, for non French people, ice cubes in wine screams 'not French' :)

We, a Canadian couple, just returned from a couple of weeks in France (and a bit beyond) and we are so very grateful for this video. I had my husband watch it too, since he was the primary driver of our rental car. We both mentioned you and this video a few times while we were in traffic. Thanks so much — your information was invaluable!

I love driving in France and have driven all over including Paris, Normandy, Champagne, Provence, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, and Côte d’Azur. The signage (last minute) and location of stop lights (low) were both challenging but eventually I got used to them. Oh and French parking garages were so narrow!

Good video. 2 remarks: North Americans don't know what lane to take when entering a traffic circle. For the first or second exit, always stay on the right. For others, stay more to the left. For a (almost) complete turn, stay as left as possible. On multi lane roads, stay on the right lane. Left lane is for passing. You can get a ticket when the police spots you staying left too long.

I’ve heard France is home to half of the worlds total number of roundabouts

Regarding rental cars and visiting more countries, make sure the rental contract specifies every country it allows you to visit, in order to ensure the rental car insurance is valid in those countries.

Thank you for this great video. On a road trip last year, I realized that the town name signs weren’t just for information, there were the formal notification of a drop in the speed limit. In the Loire and Le Finistiere, I found myself watching for those town signs as they came up often.

Hi @Oui in France, as a french driver myself I've enjoyed watching your explanations for foreigners, they hit the nail right. an other topic worth of sharing to your viewers might be how to drive in Paris, as many people arrive in France in this city first, then rent a car. The driving etiquette for Paris is even strange for a guy like me who had to adapt a lot from the strict observation of the code de la route. It was like driving in another country, left lanes on the périphérique stuck while the two medium were moving at different paces, and the motorcycles' lane in between the lanes. It is ok while getting used to driving in such conditions . Even in central Paris, at the crossroads it might feel a bit weird and irrational at least to some foreign drivers, and it is a legit lecture. Sometimes you get stuck where you don't want to be because of the inner traffic motion. Cars over parking on an actual driving lane is unfortunately a common thing. And in a city like Paris, if you hesitate you won't go first, and make your way without stressing, think about the round about at the Place de l'Étoile, with arc de Triomphe in the middle. The least you are afraid, use your side signal and go decidely to your exit, the better off you'll be. And each city and region has a style of driving, try and drive in Marseille, it is a wonderful city, but french from other cities have to adapt to this local way of driving. And it is something more impulsive, strange and delightful. Check it up for foreign drivers to learn from your experience in driving in such areas. Anyhow, glad I've found your content. Bonne route. A.

The rule of "priorité à droite" or "right of way" makes perfect sense when you know that it comes from international maritime law, governing the main method of transporting goods before trains and automobiles. A ship or sailboat is not easy to stop and start, so coordination of passing rights is critical. If you see the red port (or left) side light of a vessel ahead at a distance, even at night and moving rather slowly, you know that you need to let it proceed across your path, whether by stopping, slowing or bending course so that you will pass behind it. The green light of the starboard (right side) indicates that the vessel is coming from your left, and it is you who has the right-of-way. On land this became red for stop light, green for go. Right? :)

Excellent primer. Could / should be used by tourist agencies. Saving to a playlist for future reference & trip planning.