The graph below shows that France’s 4,000+ radars brought in almost €1 billion in fines in 2022, the second-highest amount ever recorded.
Credit: The Connexion / VisActu
The figures above are a combination from three different sources.
It is important to note that these figures do not include that raised from infractions registered by police officers and unmarked or mobile radars, which are also common in France.
The Sécurité Routière states that in 2021, around €850 million in fines were collected by mobile radar units and police fines – around the same amount collected by automatic radars.
Almost half of the earnings made in 2021 went towards financing transport infrastructure, including to the Sécurité Routière and to the upkeep and improvement of roads and public transport.
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Another 37% went to the upkeep of current radars and to purchasing newer, high-tech radars, as well as general management of systems relating to penalty points on driving licences in France.
The remaining amounts went towards paying off state debt, with a fraction being reserved for healthcare facilities.
Some of the money is also lost to radar damage, either from replacing older pieces of equipment, wear and tear, or from vandalism.
The high cost of damage in 2019 may be related to that year's gilets jaunes protests, which, amongst other groups, was spearheaded by disillusioned motorists.
