Record rise in driving fines in France: what offences and how caught

A record number of driving fines were issued in 2023 according to data recently released by the French road safety watchdog.

Driving fines can be issued directly by national, local or municipal police officers and gendarmes - or following detection by traffic cameras.

Read more: French speed cameras set to detect more types of offences

More than 30 million driving fines were issued in 2023 - the highest number ever recorded in France - reports the Observatoire national interministériel de la sécurité routière (ONISR). 

While the number of fines resulting from detection by speed cameras was slightly lower than in 2017 (the second-highest), police officers issued more, culminating in the record year.

Figures from ONISR do not account for certain parking fines (forfaits post-stationnement), of which there were around 13 million in 2023. 

The record year raised more than €2 billion for the government, figures released by France’s Cour des Comptes earlier this year show.

Read more: Driving fine bonanza as France increases number of speed cameras

Speeding fines most common

There are over 1,000 offences that can result in fines, however speeding fines accounted for 57% of the total issued in 2023.

The vast majority of speeding fines resulted from automatic detection by speed cameras - over 16 million - with the remainder issued directly by police and gendarmes.

There are between 4,200 and 4,600 radars in operation, according to car information website L'Argus.

The next highest figure (combined) was for parking in illegal spaces with more than 7 million being issued, mostly by municipal police officers.

Some penalties saw a huge increase on previous figures, such as driving in a bus lane – just over 300,000 fines were given for this, an increase of 3,000% over 2017 numbers. 

Fines for those caught driving without insurance also increased by 400% compared to seven years previously. 

Excluded from the top 20 offences (see below) are fines for driving under the influence of drugs of which there were around 127,000 cases of in 2023. 

This is 58% higher than in 2017, and only slightly below the number of those stopped for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol (168,520, three quarters of which were over the legal limit).

France’s most common driving offences in 2023:

1. Speeding less than 20km/h over speed limit outside of urban areas: 12,154,964
2. Speeding less than 20km/h over speed limit in urban areas: 3,646,288
3. Stopping or parking on a public highway: 1,182,820
4. Parking a vehicle on a pavement: 1,022,962
5. Parking without showing validation of payment: 994,103
6. Speeding when the limit is between 20km/h and 29km/h: 825,358
7. Driving without a valid insurance vignette (no longer required in 2024): 574,876
8. Using a mobile phone whilst driving: 555,146
9. Driving through a red light: 528,075
10. Driving in a bus lane: 521,461
11. Parking in a space reserved for deliveries: 426,851
12. Parking in a space prohibited by police or a by-law: 387,678
13. Double-parking: 327,717
14. Parking in front of another vehicle and blocking them: 310,798
15. Driving a vehicle without a valid contrôle technique: 301,118
16. Parking in a disabled spot without a valid badge: 247,774
17. Parking in a way that disrupts pedestrians: 245,401
18. Driving an uninsured vehicle: 243,263
19. Speeding when the limit is between 30km/h and 39km/h: 239,238
20. Driving or parking on a cycle lane: 202,737