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Motorway Travel in France

If you are travelling any distance in France and particularly if you have a deadline to meet, then you are likely to use an autoroute and for this privilege, you will be asked to pay! Much of the French Autoroute system is subject to tolls just like the M6 toll motorway in the UK but there are some sections, such as in urban conurbations, that are toll free.

Tolls vary considerably from just a couple of euros for short stretches to 30€ or 40€ for longer sections. The ASFA, Mappy and Via Michelin websites will give you an idea what you should expect to pay for your journey. The ASFA site also has live traffic information showing roadwork’s, accidents and queues. For local traffic information, you might also want to tune your car radio to 107.7 FM

Every now and again you will find a péage blocking the autoroute. These are signalled well in advance but you prepare to get into the correct lane and that is not necessarily the one with the smallest queue! You will also find a toll station when you leave a motorway. At these stations, you will either have to take a ticket, like in an automatic car park, or you will have to pay a toll.

There are a number of payment methods. For visitors to France you can look for the ‘cash attendant’ symbol above a toll lane and pay with cash or you can look for a ‘CB’ symbol and pay with your debit or credit card. In both cases you will need your toll ticket. Be careful, lost cards can be very expensive!

For those who are resident in France, a transponder can be fitted in your car. This allows you to use an automated télépéage lane. Have you ever noticed while queuing to pay that there are always some empty lanes? These are the télépéage lanes and are marked with an orange ‘t’ symbol.

Télépéage is ideal for residents who have brought their right hand drive car to France. Driving a right hand drive car on an autoroute, without a passenger, is not without difficulty and involves the driver having to stop, get out of the car and walk round to the booth or machine to take a ticket or pay. Obviously, if you are travelling with someone, then they can do this for you but if you are signed up to the télépéage system, you simply drive through a télépéage lane where a sensor reads the electronic tag in your car. This identifies you, puts a charge against your account and opens the barrier.

There are two basic payment methods in operation for the télépéage system: your bank account is debited each time you use pass a péage or you are charged at the end of the month for that month’s usage. Sometimes there is a reduced toll for regular users but you should expect to pay a monthly fee even when you don’t use a motorway. Some schemes have no monthly fee but charge a slightly higher toll. You will need to think carefully about your monthly usage and then look at the ASFA website to see how to sign up.

Maximum speeds on French autoroutes

When travelling on the autoroutes in a car you should also be aware of the speed limits. Speed cameras are getting very common in France and going too fast can be expensive. For the moment, fixed cameras are usually indicated in advance. Mobile cameras are not!

130 Km/h when the weather is dry and visibility is good.

110 Km/h when it is raining or in wet conditions.

50 Km/h if visibility is less than 50 metres.

100 Km/h if you are towing a caravan or trailer and don’t forget, when overtaking, your speed must be greater than 80 Km/h. Furthermore, if the combined length of your car and trailer is greater than 7 metres, you must leave 50 metres between yourself and the vehicle in front.