Process for drug testing drivers strengthened by French court ruling

It will now be more difficult to challenge the results of a roadside drug-driving test in France, as a recent supreme court ruling means that police no longer need to ‘prove the validity’ of the equipment used.

A saliva test done at the side of the road by police will now be considered enough to justify a procedure against the driver under the charge of driving under the influence of drugs. Police will no longer need to provide technical evidence on the kit used, in contrast to the previous rules.

It comes after Chambre criminelle de la Cour de cassation (criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation, the French criminal and civil supreme court) ruled on March 12 to change the rigorous rules on narcotics screening reports.

The ruling means that a drug reading at the side of the road will now be considered valid, without the police having to justify the reliability or the expiry date or the conditions of use of the saliva test. 

Previously, judges had invalidated the procedure when reports did not verify that the equipment used complied with validity conditions required.

Police can test a driver for suspected drug use at the roadside, using a biological sample (blood or saliva). The test must be taken in accordance with strictly supervised methods as indicated in the Code de la route (road rules). Later analysis of the test can then be further examined, to confirm the offence.

Appeal overturning

The supreme court handed down a change in the law after examining the case of a driver who tested positive for drug use in February 2019. The driver had been sentenced in June 2023 to a fine of €500 and a six-month driving suspension. 

However, the sentence had been overturned by the Rennes Court of Appeal, because it said it could not verify the reliability of the test, as no details (e.g. the brand, batch number, expiry date etc) were detailed in the file.

The supreme court did not agree with the Rennes’ court’s judgement, and said that roadside screening tests no longer need to be fully documented.

This is because roadside tests are used only to “establish a suspicion of drug use”, and are only the first step in proceedings ahead of further analysis done in a laboratory, which is used as the ‘true’ confirmation.

Police are therefore not required to give details of the roadside equipment used, the court said. This ruling will aim to avoid cases and sentences being cancelled based on an ‘equipment technicality’.

However, some driving associations have said that the ruling will threaten drivers’ rights, as the lack of checks on testing equipment could - they say - lead to a user being checked by faulty tests, or in an unlawful manner, without recourse to appeal.