Driving in France
There's no vignette — autoroutes charge by the kilometre at the barrier or via free-flow cameras. Two separate stickers matter instead: Crit'Air for city low-emission zones, and winter equipment if your route touches one of 34 mountain departments.
Rules current as of September 2026 — verify before you go.
Before you cross
2 checks- Tolls
- Pay-per-km at the barrier
- Winter equipment
- Nov 1 – Mar 31, 34 departments
- Emissions zone
- Crit'Air in major cities
- Highway limit
- 130 km/h (110 wet)
Tolls
1 rule · 1 fine riskMost autoroutes charge roughly €0.08–0.10 per km, paid at a barrier or, increasingly, via free-flow (flux libre) cameras billed after the fact.
A free-flow gantry has no barrier to stop at — you register a payment method online within days or a fine follows.
Low-emission zones
3 rules · 2 fine risksCrit'Air sticker required to drive in a ZFE (low-emission zone) — Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Lille, Strasbourg, Rouen, Reims and more.
The sticker classes your vehicle 0–5 by emissions; some zones ban the oldest classes outright on bad-air days.
Order online from the official certificat-air.gouv.fr for about €3.77, before you travel.
It's a physical windscreen sticker by post — ordering it the morning you arrive is too late.
Fine for entering a ZFE without one: from €68.
Equipment
2 rules · 2 fine risksIn 34 mountain departments (the "Loi Montagne" zones), winter tires or carried snow chains are mandatory Nov 1 – Mar 31.
Signposted at the department boundary — easy to drive past without noticing you've entered one.
Fine for non-compliance in a Loi Montagne zone: €135.
Speed limits
km/h- 130Motorway(110 wet)
- 110dual carriageway(100 wet)
- 80other roads
- 50built-up areas
The lower wet-weather limit applies automatically in rain, not just when signed.
Emergency
Tap to callDirect lines skip the general dispatcher if you already know which service you need.
You won't need to remember any of this.
Routebook flags these rules on any day your route crosses into France — right on the day it matters, no separate check.
Plan a trip through France