Christmas parties: what are drink-drive limits and breathalyser rules in France?
Rules are stricter than in some parts of the UK
Festivities are all well and good, but make sure to stay within legal drink-driving limits
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The season for Christmas parties is well underway in France with many companies as well as family and friends looking to the run-up to Christmas.
Whilst it is important to remember a number of things over Christmas in France – tipping your postal worker and firefighters, only Christmas (and not Boxing Day) being a bank holiday, and parcel sending deadlines – if you are driving it is key to have a reminder of road rules.
One of the most important of these is drink-driving limits which are different to parts of what you may remember from the UK.
What is the drink-driving limit?
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the legal limit is 80mg of alcohol for every 100ml of blood, equalling 0.08% blood alcohol content (BAC).
In France, however, the limit is 50mg for every 100ml of blood (0.05% BAC), the same as in Scotland. For those who have held a licence for less than three years this drops to 0.02%.
Attempts to estimate whether you are under the legal limit via rules of thumb (a certain number of drinks per hour, for example) should not be followed as these may not always be correct and alcohol passes through each person differently.
Using a breathalyser to check your alcohol level before getting behind the wheel of a car is thus advisable.
However, ensure you get one that conforms to French standards, as French breathalysers convert breath alcohol levels into BAC levels differently than those used in the UK.
Are roadside checks more common in France?
France has previously backtracked over a law that was set to require all drivers to carry a breathalyser in their vehicle.
This is no longer the case except for those with drink-driving convictions who need to pass an in-vehicle breathalyser test to drive.
Read more: Do you need a breathalyser in your French vehicle?
However, unlike in the UK where police can only ask a driver to do a breathalyser test in the case of an accident, traffic law violation or if suspected of drinking, police in France can carry out random breathalyser checks.
It means a motorist in France is on average 20 times more likely to be stopped for a breathalyser check than in the UK.
You can read more about how BAC levels are measured in our article below.
Read more: Motorists 20 times more likely to be breathalysed in France than in UK
