Above image property of Raimond Spekking via Wikimedia.org (CC BY 4.0 license)

Driving in France Information

Things you should know before you drive in France

by Celeste Lipford and Terry Lipford - last updated on 6/28/2024

Driving a vehicle in France is not quite the same as it is in the United States. We have collected some information and details that we found useful to know while driving in France. We will start with road signs and then on to other information you will want to have.

NOTE: If you're American or Canadian, your passport and driver's license are all you need to drive in France. Many sites will tell you that you need a notarized French translation of your U.S. Driver's License - however - we have been renting cars in France for over 30 years and we have never been asked for such a thing. Many sites will also tell you that you need an International Driving Permit however, we have never had one and have never been asked for one at any Auto Rental Facility. From what we have read, if you were to be stopped by the French Police for a violation, you could be asked for a notarized French Translation of your driver's license. You must be 18 years old or older to drive in France and your US driver's license must be valid and current.

Please note that the following set of signs are not a complete list of French road signs, these are only the signs that we found to be unique to France and that we had to lookup to understand the meaning.

In basic terms driving in France is similar to driving in the USA; they drive on the right like we do, the French stop signs mostly say "stop" and their driving license requirements are strict enough to where French drivers are reliably stable & predictable. Most of the French traffic and road signs are intuitive, but some are not. For example, what would you think a sign that shows flames coming out of the top of a car might mean? Its definition is "Access prohibited to vehicles transporting explosives and flammable materials" but that might not be your first guess would it?

Right of Way the French Way

In France, the right of way is generally given to traffic coming from the right, a rule known as priorité à droite:

Intersections: You must yield to traffic coming from the right at intersections, unless you are on a priority lane, are entering a roundabout by yielding to the left, or the lane on the right has a stop or give-way sign.

Roundabouts: You must yield to traffic already on the roundabout, which is coming from your left. However, at traditional roundabouts, vehicles entering the roundabout from the right have the right-of-way. Roundabouts with this rule are signposted with a blue circle. At more modern roundabouts, drivers on the roundabout have priority, and are signposted with a red triangle or a sign that says "Vous n'avez pas la priorité".

Priority Lanes: A yellow diamond indicates that you are on a priority lane and do not need to yield to the right. A yellow diamond with a line through it means you no longer have priority.

Other Exceptions: Priorité à droite does not apply on major autoroutes. Cars traveling downhill on narrow routes must yield to those ascending.

Emergency Services Vehicles: always have priority over other road users.

Diamond Lanes: Blue background sign with a white diamond outline indicates that some lanes are reserved for car sharing and other types of vehicles.

Road Types

French Roads are classified into the following categories:

Axxx: Autoroute Logo Red background with numbers in white. On road signs, autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo.
Nxxx: National road Red number sign, sometimes referred to as RNxx.
Dxxx: Departmental road Yellow number sign, sometimes referred to as RDxx or CDxx.
Exx: E roads are European roads in France. They are part of a network of roads that span Europe.
There also are municipal (white number sign) and forestry roads (green number sign).

Road Signs

Sign

Explanation/Description

Stop before entering or crossing the other road and yield (give way) to vehicle on the other roads

You may also see this sign in French stating "Arret"

Blue sign with white lettering and a red background "Axx: indicates Autoroute. Toll road if the word "péage" appears.

Most Autoroutes are toll roads, you should bring coins & bills in case your credit cards do not work at the toll booth. Note that this sign is indicating that the A75 Autoroute is an exit to your right.

Priority Information Signs Diamond sign with a white edge and yellow background
Trunk (priority) road. "Priorité à droite" does not apply. Get familiar with "Priorité à droite", failure to follow that rule could result in a traffic citation	End of trunk road (after this sign you have to give way to traffic from the right, unless directed otherwise). Get familiar with "Priorité à droite", failure to follow that rule could result in a traffic citation.

Directional Information Signs Square signs (normally with a white border and a blue background) are informational signs – for example, advising you of a bus stop or emergency breakdown area. Rectangular signs (normally with one pointed end) are directional signs, and helpfully they're also colour-coded: Blue = autoroute / motorway.
Your vehicle has priority over traffic coming from the opposite direction	One Way Traffic
No Through Road Ahead	No Through Road to the Right

Priority Signs The 'priorité à droite' system doesn't apply at all times. If you see a diamond sign with a white edge and yellow background you're entering a 'priority road' which means you have the right of the way instead, and vehicles coming in from the right must give way.
Your vehicle has priority over vehicles on the side roads you will pass ahead	Crossroads ahead and vehicles on the right have priority
Give Way sign 150 metres ahead.	Roundabout Ahead
Giveway	Stop Sign Ahead

Speed checking ahead - either automatic cameras or handheld devices

They may also utilize radar devices, so you should make sure that your speed is appropriate.

NOTE: The French government has announced that speed camera warning signs are to be removed from all roads in France, as part of a range of road safety measures. Not only will the warning signs be removed, but information about the location of fixed radars will no longer be made publically available.

Street Access Control Signs
Red round sign: Entry forbidden - Do not enter	Closed to all Vehicles

Speed Control Zone Signs
The sign indicates that this specific "zone" is limited to the stated speed limit in KPH	Sign indicates that the speed zone is no longer 30KPH

Speed Limits Signs

Red round sign: Maximum Speed limit in kilometers per hour (KPH) - note that this is not a "zone" it is telling you that this is the speed limit (until otherwise noted).

For those of us who are used to speed limits in MPH, multiply KPH by .6 to get a good approximation of the MPH. As just an example, this sign says the speed limit is 50 KPH which translates to 30 MPH

This is the minimum speed limit (in KPH), if you drive slower than this, you could receive a traffic citation

Headlights Signs
Mandatory turn on your headlights zone	End of mandatory headlights zone

Red triangle sign: danger Cattle crossing ahead

Blue square sign: information, in this case "Parking lot with meters"

Parking lots are almost always identified by one of these signs

Red round sign: parking is forbidden

Brown sign: Tourist information

Green sign with Nx indicates national highway. White sign with Dx or Cx indicates local roads

Directional road signs in France are color coded;

Blue background with white lettering indicates an Autoroute.
Green background with white lettering indicates an important or major road.
White background with black lettering indicates local roads.
Yellow background with black lettering indicates a regional road.

Regulatory Directional Signs Circular signs (either with a white border and a blue background, or a red border and a white background) are regulatory signs, that inform you of the laws and obligations governing that section of road
Blue round sign: Right Turn Ahead	Blue round sign: Left Turn Ahead
Blue round sign: Keep Left	Blue round sign: Keep Right
Round red border/white background sign: Left Turn not allowed	Round red border/white background sign: Right Turn not allowed
Round red border/white background sign: No Passing/Overtaking Allowed	Round red border/white background sign: U-Turn not allowed

Toll booth ahead: indicates you should slow down to stop because you’re approaching a toll booth where you’ll need to pay for the privilege of using the road ahead.

You will need to pay attention to the Toll booth lane signs indicating what types of payments each line will accept, for example, yellow signs mark the leftmost gate as reserved for télépéage only. Télépéage is an RFID based device, similar to systems utilized in the United States, however you will generally not find one on a rental vehicle.

Toll Payment Signs You will see that each Autoroute lane will have one of the following signs above it. Not all Autoroutes have "manned tollbooths" and not all Autoroutes will accept credit cards and note that some American credit cards will not work in France. You should always have some cash and coins ready to pay the toll just in case (look for the "Cash" sign below).
Ticket marking point	Manned tollbooth
Debit or credit card	Télépéage-only
Cash Accepted	Cash Accepted

Entering & Departing Villages/Towns/Cities/etc
Sign notifying you that you are about to enter the village of St. Vincent de Tyrosse	Sign notifying you that you are about to depart the village of St. Vincent de Tyrosse

Entering/Leaving Low Emission Zone
In a effort to reduce air pollution in Paris and many other cities in France they have introduced a "Low Emission Zone" scheme whereby all vehicles must display a "Crit Air sticker" determining the vehicle's carbon emissions. Failure to do so will result in a citation.	Sign notifying you that you are about to depart the Low Emission Zone.

French Language Road Signs

The following French phrases are found on various road signs in France, and these phrases also appear on multiple websites. We are unsure of who the author of these phrases may be, we assume that it is the French Government. We are displaying this text in a sincere effort to educate the reader as to phrases that are important for drivers to know of and understand.

French Phrase	English Equivalent
ouvert	Open
fermé	Closed
gauche	Left
droite	Right
suivre	Follow
arrêt	Stop – note: the word stop is also commonly used on French road signs
sens unique	One way
serrez à droite	Keep to the right
le sens interdit	No entry
cédez le passage	Give way
allumez vos feux	Turn on your lights
ralentir	Slow down
vous n'avez pas la priorité	You don’t have right of way
travaux	Road works
fin de chantier	End of works
rappel	Reminder – this often appears on speed limit signs to show that speed restrictions are still in place
(prochaine) sortie	(next) exit
péage	Toll road
route barre	Road closed
chaussée glissante	Slippery road
chaussée déformer	Road in bad condition
passage piétons	Pedestrian crossing
la limitation de vitesse	Speed limit
la circulation	Traffic
un bouchon / un embouteillage	Traffic jam
le carambolage	Pile up (major accident)
le dépassement	Overtake
aire de repos	Rest area / layby
tomber en panne	Break down
déviation	Detour
autoroute	Motorway
la bande d'arrêt d'urgence	Emergency lane / hard shoulder
le rondpont	Roundabout
le pont	Bridge
le feu de signalisation	Traffic light
le conducteur / la conductrice	Driver (male / female)
toutes directions	All directions – signals where traffic for certain destinations should head
autre direction	Other Direction
Bis-	If you are driving to Lyon and you see a sign that says Bis-Lyon, it is telling you of an alternative route to Lyon
Risque de verglas	Icy Road
Roulez au pas	Drive very slowly
Vérifiez votre distance de sécurité	Keep a safe distance
Un train peut en cacher un autre	One train may hide another
Au péage, prudence, piétons	At the toll booth, watch out for pedestrians

All Road Sign Images on this page came from Wikipedia on the Wikipedia French Road Sign Article using the GNU Free Documentation License.

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Driving in France Information

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