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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.
Tolls
Most 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.
Fine if ignored

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
Crit'Air sticker required to drive in a ZFE (low-emission zone) — Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Lille, Strasbourg, Rouen, Reims and more.
Fine if ignored

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.
Fine if ignored
Equipment
In 34 mountain departments (the "Loi Montagne" zones), winter tires or carried snow chains are mandatory Nov 1 – Mar 31.
Fine if ignored

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.
Fine if ignored
Speed limits
Motorway 130 km/h (110 wet) · dual carriageway 110 (100 wet) · other roads 80 km/h · built-up areas 50 km/h.

The lower wet-weather limit applies automatically in rain, not just when signed.

Emergency
112 — EU-wide emergency number, works from any phone.
17 police · 18 fire · 15 medical (SAMU).

Direct lines skip the general dispatcher if you already know which service you need.

Crossing into France on a trip?
Routebook flags this automatically on any day your route crosses the border.
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