What You Must Carry in Your Car in France
Crossing to France this summer? Two items are legally required in every car, one famous requirement was scrapped in 2020, and UK-registered cars have a short extra list. Here is what French law actually asks for.
Every car in France must carry a CE-marked reflective vest within reach and an approved warning triangle (Code de la route, articles R416-17 to R416-20), with a 135 euro fixed fine at stake. The breathalyser rule is gone, abolished in May 2020. UK cars add beam deflectors, a UK identifier and, for some cities, a Crit'Air sticker.
Applies to France. Road-legality and inspection tests differ by country, so confirm the rules where you drive.
French mandatory-kit rules are short but precisely worded, and a couple of the things UK drivers remember about them are out of date. This is the current list for a private car, plus the extras that apply because yours is right-hand drive.
The vest and the triangle
The two required items live in the Code de la route, articles R416-17 to R416-20. The reflective vest must be CE-marked and kept within reach of the driver, not in the boot, because the law expects you to put it on before you step out of an immobilised car on the road. The warning triangle must be an approved type and goes out at least 30 metres behind the car, unless placing it would put you in danger. Failing to produce or use either at a roadside check is a 135 euro fixed fine.
The breathalyser myth
The rule UK drivers remember, carrying a self-test breathalyser, was abolished in May 2020 by decree 2020-605 after years in limbo: the obligation arrived in 2012 but the fine for ignoring it was scrapped almost immediately. Today there is no requirement to carry one and no penalty for not having one. The drink-drive limit itself is stricter than England's at 0.5 g/l of blood, so the sensible reading is that France dropped the gadget, not the enforcement.
Extras for a UK-registered car
French law requires dipped beams not to dazzle oncoming traffic, and a right-hand-drive car's beams sweep the wrong way, so you need stick-on beam deflectors or a manual headlight adjustment. A UK identifier is required too, on the plate or as a sticker. Several cities also run low-emission zones where every car, foreign-registered ones included, must display a Crit'Air sticker: it costs a few euros from the official site and takes days to arrive, so order before you sail. Zone boundaries and rules keep moving, so check the cities on your route.
Winter: the Loi Montagne zones
From 1 November to 31 March, cars in designated communes across the Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Vosges and Corsica must be on 3PMSF-marked winter tyres or carry chains or snow socks for at least two driven wheels. The obligation applies to visiting cars and is signposted at zone boundaries. Penalty arrangements have shifted around since the scheme launched, so do not gamble on leniency: if a ski trip is on the itinerary, the kit belongs in the boot.
The conditions that matter
- ✓A CE-marked vest within reach and an approved triangle are required; 135 euro fixed fine.
- ✓No breathalyser requirement since May 2020; the old rule is now a myth.
- !UK cars add beam deflectors and a UK identifier; city Crit'Air stickers and mountain winter kit apply route depending.
Sources
- Mandatory equipment in vehicles in France (service-public.gouv.fr)
- Vignette Crit'Air: certificat qualité de l'air (service-public.gouv.fr)
- Winter equipment obligation in mountain areas (isere.gouv.fr)
- Driving in Europe checklist (RAC)
General guidance, not legal advice. Requirements abroad change; check official sources before travelling.