France Driving Laws: Points, Speeding, Drink Driving, and Fines

France treats driving offences as a scoring problem before it treats them as a fines problem. Almost every rule described across this section connects back to one organising idea, the permis a points: a full French licence carries 12 points, each qualifying infraction withdraws a set number of them, and a licence whose balance reaches zero is invalidated rather than merely penalised. Money matters, but points are what actually end a driving career.

That structure explains why two drivers caught doing the same thing can face very different consequences. A newly qualified driver holds a permis probatoire that starts with only 6 points, is held to a lower blood alcohol threshold, and drives to reduced speed limits, so a single serious infraction can wipe out most of the balance. The pages below break the system into its working parts, and this page explains how they fit together.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page presents general legal information, not legal advice.

The Points Licence Is the Organising Idea

Nearly every French road traffic penalty comes in two parts: a financial penalty, and a withdrawal of points from the driver's licence. The financial side varies with the class of the offence and, for some infractions, with how quickly the driver pays. The points side is what accumulates.

Points recover, but slowly, and the pace depends on how serious the infraction was. A single lost point recovers automatically after 6 months. Larger point losses take 2 or 3 years, depending on the class of the infraction involved.

There is one way to speed that up. A prefecture approved awareness course, the stage de sensibilisation, can restore up to 4 points, but a driver can only benefit from it once every 12 months. That limit is what makes a run of infractions inside a short period so much more damaging than the same infractions spread out.

When the balance reaches zero, the consequence is not a fine but invalidation of the licence. For a probationary driver, that means reapplying and retaking the required exams. Understanding that endpoint is the reason it is worth knowing exactly what each infraction costs before, rather than after, it happens.

New Drivers: The Permis Probatoire

A newly issued French licence is probationary, and the difference is not cosmetic. It starts with 6 points instead of the full 12, and the balance rises by 2 points a year over 3 years, or by 3 points a year over 2 years for drivers who completed conduite accompagnee (AAC). A point losing infraction during a probationary year interrupts that year's scheduled increase, so one mistake can stall the climb toward a full balance.

The probationary regime also changes the rules of the road themselves. The driver must display a disque A on the vehicle for the entire probationary period, and reduced speed limits apply throughout: 110 km/h on motorways, 100 km/h on divided dual carriageways, and 80 km/h on other roads outside built up areas.

There is a training trigger as well. An infraction that costs 3 or more points in a single event requires a mandatory 2 day stage de sensibilisation, which must be completed within 4 months of notification. Probationary drivers are also held to a reduced blood alcohol threshold of 0.2 g/L, well below the general 0.5 g/L limit.

Because a probationary balance is half the normal one, the invalidation threshold arrives much sooner. Permis Probatoire in France: Points, Speed Limits, and Rules for New Drivers sets out the full schedule, the disque A rules, and what invalidation during the probationary period actually requires of the driver afterwards.

Speeding: Bands, Points, and a New Criminal Threshold

Speeding is the infraction most drivers meet, and France grades it in bands. Points lost rise from 1 to 6 as the excess grows from under 20 km/h to 50 km/h or more. Fines for a small excess depend on the posted speed limit: 135 EUR where the limit is 50 km/h or less, but only 68 EUR where the limit is above 50 km/h.

Higher up the scale the consequences change in kind, not just in degree. Licence suspension becomes possible starting at a 30 to 39 km/h excess.

The most significant recent change concerns the top of the scale. A 2025 reform makes speeding 50 km/h or more over the limit a delit, a criminal offence, starting with a first offence rather than only on a repeat offence, effective 29 December 2025. The amende forfaitaire delictuelle for that band is 300 EUR (250 EUR if paid quickly, 600 EUR if late), while a court can impose up to 3,750 EUR and up to 3 months in prison. Vehicle confiscation is mandatory on a repeat 50 km/h or greater offence unless a court gives a specially reasoned decision not to order it.

France Speeding Fines: Full 2026 Penalty Table and Points Schedule carries the band by band table, the points schedule, and the detail of how the new delit threshold works in practice.

Alcool au Volant: Two Limits, Two Kinds of Offence

Drink driving in France runs on two thresholds and two categories of offence. The general blood alcohol limit is 0.5 g/L of blood, equivalent to 0.25 mg/L of exhaled breath. A reduced 0.2 g/L threshold, equivalent to 0.1 mg/L of exhaled breath, applies to probationary licence holders, to drivers of public transport vehicles, and to drivers restricted to a vehicle fitted with a court ordered alcohol interlock.

Above the general limit, the offence splits. Driving between 0.5 and 0.79 g/L is a 4th class contravention, carrying a 135 EUR forfaitaire fine, 6 points withdrawn, and a possible licence suspension of up to 3 years. Driving at 0.8 g/L or above is a delit, and since a reform that took effect on 11 July 2025 it carries up to 3 years imprisonment and a 9,000 EUR fine, with suspension of up to 5 years.

That reform date matters when checking figures elsewhere. The penalty scale in force before 11 July 2025 no longer applies to offences committed after that date, though older guidance still in circulation may show the previous, now superseded numbers.

Two related points are easy to miss. Driving under the influence of drugs is a separate offence with its own, heavier penalty scale, and combining a positive drug test with alcohol is punished more severely than either offence alone. Refusing a breath or blood test is itself an offence and results in immediate retention of the licence. Alcool au Volant: France's Drink Driving Limits and Penalties Explained works through each threshold and the penalties attached to it.

Delit de Fuite: Leaving the Scene of an Accident

Failing to stop after being involved in an accident, while knowing that it occurred, is the serious offence of this section. Delit de fuite is punished by up to 3 years imprisonment and a 75,000 EUR fine, with 6 points withdrawn. French law requires a driver involved in an accident to stop, and leaving briefly to summon emergency help is a different matter from deliberately leaving the scene to avoid identification.

Where delit de fuite is combined with involuntary homicide or involuntary injury, it is the penalty for that homicide or injury offence that is doubled, rather than a flat doubling of the delit de fuite penalty itself. That distinction is frequently reported inaccurately, and it changes the arithmetic considerably.

A reform that took effect in 2025 also created two new offences, homicide routier and blessures routieres, with their own penalty scale separate from the older doubling mechanism. Homicide routier is punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment and a 100,000 EUR fine where a driver caused a death through a manifestly deliberate safety breach, manifest alcohol impairment, or drug use, rising further where multiple aggravating factors combine. Blessures routieres, the companion injury offence, scales its penalty according to the severity of the injury and whether aggravating factors are present.

Homicide routier is a separate, road specific qualification from the general offence of homicide involontaire, created to address dangerous driving deaths with dedicated, harsher penalties. Delit de Fuite in France: Penalties for Leaving the Scene of an Accident explains how the offences interact.

What to Do About a Ticket

Receiving an avis de contravention starts a clock. A requete en exoneration contesting a moving violation fine must be filed with ANTAI within 45 days of the avis de contravention, and most contestations require paying a consignation, a deposit equal to the fine amount, refundable if the case is dismissed or the driver is acquitted.

A consignation is not required for specific grounds, including a stolen vehicle, usurped plates, a vehicle sold before the offence date, or force majeure. If the fine has already become an amende forfaitaire majoree, the general deadline to challenge it is 30 days, with a separate and narrower 3 month window that applies only to prove that a declared address change caused the notice to be misdirected.

Parking charges work differently. A forfait post stationnement (FPS) is challenged by a RAPO to the commune within 1 month, then by an appeal within a further month if the RAPO is rejected or left unanswered. That appeal goes to the Tribunal du stationnement payant (TSP), the renamed Commission du contentieux du stationnement payant (CCSP), effective 1 January 2025.

Contesting without a valid ground carries its own risk, since an unsuccessful challenge can leave the higher majoree amount due. How to Contest a Traffic Fine in France: ANTAI, Deadlines, and Appeals describes the procedure and its deadlines rather than advising anyone to contest.

Where to Go Next

If you have just passed your test, start with the probationary licence rules, because they change both the limits you drive to and the cost of any mistake. If you have already been notified of an infraction, the fine contestation page sets out the deadlines that matter first. For the wider legal landscape beyond the road, see the France country hub.

Electric scooters have their own dedicated guide: e-scooter laws in France covers the EDPM rules, the age minimum, insurance, and where you can ride.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many points does a French driving licence have?

A full French licence carries 12 points. A newly issued licence is a permis probatoire and starts with 6 points, which build up by 2 points a year over 3 years, or by 3 points a year over 2 years for drivers who completed conduite accompagnee (AAC). If the balance reaches zero during the probationary period, the licence is invalidated and the driver must reapply and retake the required exams.

When does speeding become a criminal offence in France?

A 2025 reform makes an excess of 50 km/h or more over the posted limit a delit, meaning a criminal offence, starting with a first offence rather than only on a repeat offence, effective 29 December 2025. The amende forfaitaire delictuelle is 300 EUR (250 EUR if paid quickly, 600 EUR if late), and a court can impose up to 3,750 EUR and up to 3 months in prison. Full detail is on the speeding penalties page.

What is the drink driving limit in France?

The general limit is 0.5 g/L of blood, equivalent to 0.25 mg/L of exhaled breath. A reduced 0.2 g/L threshold, equivalent to 0.1 mg/L of exhaled breath, applies to probationary licence holders, to drivers of public transport vehicles, and to drivers restricted to a vehicle fitted with a court ordered alcohol interlock.

How do you recover lost points on a French licence?

A single lost point recovers automatically after 6 months, while larger point losses take 2 or 3 years depending on the class of the infraction. A prefecture approved awareness course, the stage de sensibilisation, can restore up to 4 points, but only once every 12 months.

How long do you have to contest a French traffic fine?

A requete en exoneration must be filed with ANTAI within 45 days of the avis de contravention, and most contestations require paying a consignation, a deposit equal to the fine amount that is refunded if the case is dismissed or the driver is acquitted. If the fine has already become an amende forfaitaire majoree, the general deadline to challenge it is 30 days. Parking charges follow a separate route through a RAPO to the commune.