The French are to “nonchalant”. -stopping on the road to chat. -coming in to other lanes, even if it’s in to oncoming traffic. - indicator? What’s that? -parking bay/spot they are just “suggestions”.

All these things equally apply to the UK!

In France they drive on the right side of the road. not on the wrong.

Stop Sign - fine - Yes. Points deducted on UK License - No

Very helpful video. I was punched in the face by some lunatic in the north of France due to the priority to the right rule i struggle with. Turns out he didn’t have priority, but even if he did doesn’t justify violence. Hope he faces criminal justice here!

If it says stop in the UK it means Stop, Indicate tossers exist in the UK as well, Give way to pedestrians, lane control in the UK is crap for many, Road rage doesn't exist in the UK, we seem to be better at giving cyclists space, Indicators are for indicating flashing lights means Im coming through, look how many people are killed or injured on zebras in the UK each year, Priority a droit we have give way to the right roundabouts etc. got any tips?

Very useful video guys. Thanks for taking the time!

Excellent and very helpful - can I ask your view on passing larger groups of cyclists where they occupy most of the lane? If it's safe to pass I assume you just move to the other side of the road and give them as much room as possible ? Love the idea of giving people time for each other - part of the real attraction of France. Thanks again.

Fairly recent changes in laws give pedestrians right of way over cars on French roads, vehicles are required to stop when a pedestrian signals or makes a move to cross a road except where there is a pedestrian crossing within 50m. However, don't bank on drivers knowing the rules, many still don't! Also on the give way to the right rule there is a signpost before entering the town/village to signal this is the case and again when leaving. In the country side there is a different sign used that looks like an X which you could misconstrue as a crossroads. It isn't it means vehicles entering from the right have priority. Saying that it is still the responsibility of the person entering from the side road to ensure it is safe to do so. A different sign is displayed at roundabouts to inform you that you do not have priority. Remember traffic will be coming from the left. One other thing, on dual carriageways you must not remain in the left hand lane(s) after overtaking and the road ahead is clear, you must return to the right hand lane. Using your indicators is a must before and after the manoeuvre.

Vrey informative video! I have been looking for a resource about this pump as i want to build an ensuite in my bedroom, Thank you!

I drove to the alps and back last winter and wondered why so many cars had their indicators on while in the outside lane 🤪

Everything you told is not specific to France. Those rules apply to almost all EU countries. Don't forget you can have 3 speed limits within 1km. It cost me a lot of euros.

I do appreciate these kind of videos but just a couple of corrections if not more information. 1) As a Brit you cannot get points on your license since leaving the EU. 2) The last part of the video tells of having to give way to the side road… There is one way to know, there would normally be a circle sign with a black mark through it.

Thank you 💚

Article R415-11 Tout conducteur est tenu de céder le passage, au besoin en s'arrêtant, au piéton s'engageant régulièrement dans la traversée d'une chaussée ou manifestant clairement l'intention de le faire ou circulant dans une aire piétonne ou une zone de rencontre. Drivers are supposed to stop if any pedestrian manifests a clear intention to cross the road. Not saying that all do, but failing to do so may result in penalties: Failing to yield to a pedestrian may incur the loss of 6 points out of 12 on a license (not to mention other penalties). If an accident occurs, there is criminal and civil liability. In France, in any accident involving a car and a pedestrian, even if the pedestrian did not abide by road rules, the driver (or rather the insurer thereof) is civilly liable.

What really had me steamed up in France was the very common practice of entering a roundabout with a left indicator on and then, once inside it, switch to right indicator and, in effect go straight ahead. It was so common that I started wondering if it is mandatory to always indicate left to show that you will enter the roundabout? (as if there was any other option when you approach it...)

For some time now, drivers who do not respect pedestrian crossings have been severely punished. The situation has improved a lot, but you have reason to remain wary.

A stop sign is mandatory in the UK, common practice does not reflect the law, we can agree on that but you really should have made this clear. It is a legal requirement to give cyclists 1.5 metres if you are going to overtake, if there isn't enough space you have to wait, you are as likely to castigated by an oncoming motorist as a cyclist for failing to do so. And you can get an on the spot fine or points. Priorité à droite is largely a thing of thé past, but some older drivers still think it applies, if you are in a road with thé yellow square road signes, a "priorité" road then it won't happen, otherwise look at thé road parkings as you go.

And of course if you are rushing to the ferry way too fast your licence will be suspended your car confiscated until the court appearance. It happens.

As against other wrong advice this is all true. Give way is a big problem even when faced with cede la passage , give way , elderly drivers may not having been taught differently to give way on their right and anything on their left is expected to stop, Roundabouts are specially difficult if you take the middle lane when going straight ahead , then when you turn into your exit , expect a car to cut you on the inside going straight on round even ignoring your signal. Or if you take the inside , expect a car to pass across in front of you to their exit. There is no lane , or often signal , discipline. But there is something even more peculiar at roundabouts . If you are going straight ahead then you should signal left , and then signal right at your exit. But if you don't signal it means you give priority to those entering the roundabout from your right. Oh dear .🤔

Priority to the right is in power all over continental Europe. If nothing is indicated otherwise, give way to the vehicle approaching from the right.

Just to clear things out, last point about priority to the right. It is not the road that has the priority, it is the driver. So when you approach a junction and there is a car to your right but nothing ahead, he has the right to go first. However if there is a car driving in opposite direction on the road you're on, you have the priority. It's about drivers and not the roads. Also thanks for the video, I am going to France next week and can't wait! 🙂

Excellent video thankyou!

With the last one, I think even if you have priority from the side road, you should still excercice caution because some drivers forget this rule exists, especially from the UK, but even the French. In other words, do not pull out until you are sure the driver has stopped to let you out. Same with right signals to show they are turning into the road. And in Germany, i definitely think that even doing 140 km/h is enough for someone to tell you to move to the right due to the no speed limite law. But (anywhere you drive) please do not sit within 2 seconds of the car in front, ideally 3.

The n1 "difference" is quite perplexing to me. Are there no equal priority intersections (otherwise known as uncontrolled intersections) in UK? In every European city and town you can find them and clearly know whether it is one. Each driver is trained to understand priorities on such intersections, it's drilled in. How come this is such an issue?

Hello, you forget the main one! They drive on the right side of the road. Everything you said is valid for Holland,Belgium,Germany,… and most of the European countries. Cheers.

Verbal instruction is useless without image examples!

Having lived in France for many years, I can honestly say that this is the best explanation of French roads I have seen.

Video started with false information. No we don't just drive past STOP sign if the road is clear, it is illegal here too. You must stop your vehicle at STOP at all times in UK.

I don't find that speed limits are particularly respected in France. I keep to a couple of kilometres over the limit, and cars and huge trucks get really annoyed and drive up really close behind me. I pull over if i can, but it's not always possible. The speed limit might be 90km on the higway, but coming through a village it drops to 70 and then 50km, i respect the speed limit of villages with their crossing points and homes, however, most drivers don't and will come up very aggressively behind you as if to physically push you on!

An observation of French drivers, in traffic jams on major roads many drivers will pull over allowing motorcycles to filter. Not sure if filtering is now illegal in France as I believe it is in Switzerland. Swiss drivers (some) would actively block a motorcycle making progress in a jam. If there has been an accident on the autoroute, cars will pull over to the margins of the lanes allowing access for emergency vehicles, I might be confusing France with Germany?

The give way to the right , is the most important , I have been caught out with this , there is usually a sign post warning you this , then sometimes the same sign has a red diagonal line , meaning you have right of way

Thank you. Really helpful advice.

Another thing u forgot to mention is that u shouldn’t trust a green light in France. Running red lights is very common (especially in Paris) so it’s worth double checking before proceeding through. One day I almost got hit by a motorcycle (on my bicycle) blasting through a blind intersection. Only saw him at the very last second. I could have been killed!

Very well explained

When Richard A, Pops his Clogs your in with a good chance m8 :D. Excellent vidio ;)

Excellent advice, lucidly put. Thank you. I'm driving from Toulouse airport to Condom, Le Gers in a couple of weeks time. I drove in le Gers last November - made a driver irate who came out of what I thought was side street! - the priorite a droite thing which you mention. Thank you - you explained it well. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

i have one question my daughter has born here in france january 2016, and this year 2023 we have applied for the parent des enfant scholarise, and we mean me and my wife got recepisse and how can i apply for my daughter right now, can you pls help me out thanks

Wondered why I always nearly get run over in France 😂

Passing driving test is very difficult in france I mean very tough. People who makes mistakes I think they have changed their licenses.

Hello mam I just give birth my child in France now I want french residents card through my child because I'm not legal but I live in peris I have hungry visa in my passport.can you please help me to get my residence card in France. What's the criteria??? Am I eligible to get french residents card or french citizenship? Please reply waiting for your reply anxiously

I have driven across France a few times over the years. I found they have good lane discipline and tend to stick to the speed limits. All the bad driving or crazy speeding has been with cars sporting GB plates. Luckily I had CH plates on at the time and started wanting the French Police to clobber some of the speeders.

Thank you so much - very nicely explained. and super helpful - cheers.

Zebra crossing: up to about 20, 25 years ago, cars had absolute preference in France. If you were hit by a car crossing the road, it was your fault. However, if it happened while you were crossing on a zebra crossing, the insurance would pay.

When entering a roundabout that has 2 lanes. The Right lane is to go right or to do a u turn. The left lane is to go left or go straight

Regarding roundabouts (rond-points), there are two rules, 1) when you approach a roundabout drive slowly or even stop before entering it, remember that vehicles inside the roundabout have priority, 2) once you are in the roundabout, don't forget to indicate when you want to get out of it. Simple.

Im just back from Nice/Frejus (Im from ireland). Biggest one for me was how there are in suburban areas so many raised concrete barriers in the middle of the road and on the side of the roads with little space. I just felt very hemmed in a lot especially on roads that had "u bends" built into them. Separately not too impressed with their motorways, plenty of stretches had no hard shoulders (A8) and no lights at night, I have never driven on an unlit motorway before and was depending on the hired car to activate the high beams. Other than that thought the drivers had good attitudes though their motorcyclists are iffy, going for gaps that werent there, liked the roundabouts.

Hmm. Interesting but I’ve just spent six weeks driving round the Nîmes/Arles/Montpellier area and have experienced almost none of these points. Particularly, I found zebra crossings well observed and “priorité à droite” well signalled on the few intersections it applied to. I did not experience the issue with roundabouts and I found French drivers to think nothing of attempting to drive up my exhaust if they wanted to pass. On motorways, which I used a lot, drivers did tend to keep their indicators on if they were still passing and put them off only once they gone back into their original lane. What did throw me on that point was lorries in the slow lane, indicating left when passing in the middle lane but keeping it on until they had returned, meaning that if you’re approaching them in the fast lane it looks as if they’re about to enter the fast lane in front of you when all they’re doing is telling you they’re passing something in the slow lane and have no intention of coming into the fast lane. That took a while to get used to!

Wish the British would treat cyclists with a bit more respect.

In France it’s mandatory to maintain 1 meter in city, 1.5 meters on country roads between you and the cyclist. And no overtaking in corners, it’s annoying when there’s a cyclist ahead of you.