French Culture – Driving in France Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 4, 2018 in Culture, Vocabulary
My son and I just got back from ten amazing days in France. We were going back to revisit some of the great places we saw the year before. We had a great time seeing family, eating great food, and exploring the sights (and in the coming weeks, I’ll share some of the highlights). And while I loved it all, one of the things that I really love about visiting France is getting to drive in a country where people really take driving seriously.
La conduite en France / Driving in France
The French take driving very seriously. In fact, driving in France is almost a national sport. And if you want to drive in France, there are some important things you should know.
First of all, if you are going to louer une voiture en France you need to know what kind of car you want. While most cars come standard with une boîte de vitesse manuelle you can get des voitures de location avec boîte de vitesse automatique. I like to get mine with boîte manuelle (you might also hear boîte normalle) because I think that it makes driving that much more fun. Of course, pour louer une voiture, you will need a valid permis de conduire.
When your adventures are through and you want to return your voiture de location to the agence (the rental agency), you will need to faire le plein to avoid paying extra pour l’essence. Many voitures in France use le gazole (or gazoil) so make sure you know and use the right kind of essence.
Faire attention / Pay attention
When I first went to France back in the ’80’s, there was barely anything like a speed limit. Over the years since, France has gotten more and more strict about making sure people drive safely. If you decide to drive in France, there are two other important things to know.
- France has a system of automated cameras and radar that will snap a picture of your car if you’re driving too fast! These radars (radars) are signalés (indicated) with road-side signs, so keep your eyes open … or you might get flashé (the term the French use for getting snapped by the radars) and have to pay une amende (a fine).
- As of June of this year, the speed limit on many French roads has been lowered to 80 km/h (down from 90). It’s been a bit of a national scandal with many French people complaining about the new, stricter driving laws.
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| la voiture Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | the car |
| une voiture de location Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | a rental car |
| louer une voiture Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | to rent a car |
| faire le plein Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | to fill up/fill the gas tank |
| l'essence Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | gas |
| le gazole Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | diesel |
| le permis de conduire Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | the driver's license |
| la boîte de vitesse Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | transmission |
| la boîte de vitesse manuelle Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | manual transmission |
| la boîte de vitesse automatique Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | automatic transmission |
| la limite de vitesse Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode. | the speed limit |
Pour finir / finally
Enjoy this driving-related chanson (song) from the great chanteur (singer) Joe Dassin. And for some more great car-related vocabulary, see this post from last summer.
Photo courtesy of www.Pexels.com [CC0 license].
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.
Comments:
Constantin Svirchevski:
In 2-column table (just before Section “Pour finir”) in 3rd row it says: louer un voiture (to rent a car) . It always seemed to me that “car” in French is femenine – une. Maybe it is just a typo?
Tim Hildreth:
@Constantin Svirchevski Merci, Constantin! Vous avez raison. Yes, I mis-typed that one … If you listen to the sound you’ll hear that it is indeed “louer unE voiture”. I’ve updated the table.
James Collier:
Also, do not drive along mindlessly in the fast lane. Use it only to pass and then promptly move back over out of the way. Equally important, do not do what Americans do and pass another car on the right. They just don’t do that here in France (or in other European countries as far as I know).
Tim Hildreth:
@James Collier Absolument, James! That’s one of the things that makes driving in France fun for me. In general, other drivers take it seriously and follow the rules of the road which makes driving more pleasant for everyone! Thank you for your comment.