Germany → France

Driving in France when you know Germany

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

What's different (13)

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical

Germany · homeNo general limitNo general limit for cars. 130 km/h is the official recommendation, and going faster can mean sharing liability after an accident. Signed limits apply on many stretches.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination130 km/h110 in rain. Lower limits are signed in tunnels and roadworks.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical

Germany · home100 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination80 km/hDepartments may sign 90 on some roads. Sections with two lanes in the same direction are 90 on those lanes.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical

Germany · home

Warning triangle
High-visibility vest
First aid kit

Triangle and vest under StVZO §53a. The first aid kit (DIN 13164) is required separately by StVZO §35h: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvzo_2012/__35h.htmlChecked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination

Warning triangle
High-visibility vest

The vest must be within reach and worn if you leave a broken-down car on the road. Missing either is a 135 euro fine.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Important

Germany · homeNo general limitRoads with structurally separated carriageways have no general car limit, like motorways. The 130 km/h recommendation applies. Signed limits are common.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination110 km/h100 in rain.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Important

Germany · home0 g/lZero alcohol for the two-year probationary period and for anyone under 21.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination0.2 g/lFor the whole probationary period. In practice this means do not drink at all.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may drive

Important

Germany · home18 years17 is possible only in the accompanied-driving scheme, within Germany.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination17 yearsLowered from 18 in January 2024. Under-18s may not drive outside France.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Turning at a red light

Important

Germany · homeOnly where a sign allows itOnly where a green arrow plate (Grünpfeil) is mounted beside the red light, only turning right, and only after a complete stop.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot allowedA complete stop is required at every red light. Cyclist exceptions are signed.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Age below which a child needs a child seat

Important

Germany · home12 yearsA child needs a seat until age 12, unless already 150 cm tall.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination10 yearsA child under 10 must use a restraint suited to their size and weight.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Winter tyres

Important

Germany · homeRequired whenever the road is icy or snowyCondition-based, not date-based: winter tyres (3PMSF) are required whenever there is snow, slush or ice on the road, at any time of year.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationRequired where signs say soIn 34 mountain departments from 1 November to 31 March, marked zones require either four winter tyres (3PMSF marking) or snow chains on board. Zones are signed at their entrance.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How you pay for motorways

Important

Germany · home

None

Motorways are free for cars and motorcycles — the toll applies to trucks. A few tunnels and private roads charge individually.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destination

Toll booths
Electronic tolls with no barriers

Most motorways are tolled. Newer free-flow sections (A13, A14, A79) have no barriers — pay online or at a tobacconist within 72 hours, or fines follow the number plate.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Hands-free phone calls

Good to know

Germany · homeAllowedVoice control and mounted devices with brief glances are allowed.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationAllowed, with restrictionsEarpieces, earphones and headsets are all banned while driving. Only systems built into the car are allowed.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Who has priority at a roundabout

Good to know

Germany · homeTraffic already on the roundabout goes firstWhere the roundabout sign is posted, traffic on the circle has priority and you must not indicate on entry — only on exit. An unsigned circle falls back to right-before-left.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationDepends on the signsAlmost all roundabouts have give-way signs, so traffic already on the circle has priority. On the rare unsigned ones, entering traffic from the right has priority instead — Place de l'Étoile in Paris works this way.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether police can fine you on the spot

Good to know

Germany · homeYesMinor offences up to 55 euros can be settled on the spot as a warning fine. Larger fines are billed — but drivers without a German address can be required to pay a security deposit immediately.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationYes — visitors must pay at the roadsideA driver who does not live in France must generally pay the fixed fine or a deposit immediately, and the car can be held until it is paid.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Known on one side only (13)

Speed limit in rain or snow

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination

Motorway — 110 km/h
Dual carriageway — 100 km/h

Applies when rain or other precipitation is falling.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination

Motorway — 110 km/h
Dual carriageway — 100 km/h
Country roads — 80 km/h

For the probationary period: 3 years after the test, or 2 with accompanied driving. Applies whatever the weather.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Height below which a child needs a child seat

Germany · home150 cmA child shorter than 150 cm needs a seat until age 12.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

Youngest age a child may sit in the front

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination10 yearsExceptions: a rear-facing baby seat with the airbag off, no back seats, no rear seatbelts, or the back full of other under-10s.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

When you must switch your headlights on

Germany · homeNot requiredRequired for motorcycles only. Cars need lights at night and in poor visibility.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

Parking on the pavement

Germany · homeOnly where signs or markings allow itOnly where a sign or marking explicitly allows it.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

Parking facing against the traffic

Germany · homeOnly on one-way streetsPark on the right edge in the direction of travel; one-way streets allow the left.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

How far you must park from a junction or crossing

Germany · home

A junction — 5 m

8 m where a marked cycle path crosses.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

What happens if you park wrongly

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination

A fine
Towing

Obstructive parking can mean immobilisation and the pound, not just a fine.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

When winter tyre rules apply

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination1 November to 31 MarchChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Snow chains

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destinationRequired where signs say soChains on the drive wheels satisfy the mountain-zone rule if you do not have winter tyres. A specific sign can make chains compulsory on a given road.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Low-emission zones

Germany · homeIn many citiesAround 39 Umweltzonen, including Berlin, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart. A green windscreen sticker is required, including on foreign cars — order it before travelling.Checked 3 Aug 2026

France · destinationNot yet verified

Typical fines

Germany · homeNot yet verified

France · destination

Holding a phone — fine from 135 EUR, 3 points

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Same in both (9)

Which side of the road you drive on — Right official source
Speed limit in towns and cities — 50 km/h official source
How much alcohol you may have in your blood — 0.5 g/l official source
Whether you need an International Driving Permit — Depends on where your licence is from official source
Which side you overtake on — Left official source
Holding a phone while driving — Not allowed official source
Priority to traffic coming from the right — Yes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctions official source
Who must wear a seatbelt — Everyone, in every seat official source
Emergency number — 112 official source