{"id":30674,"date":"2018-09-04T05:36:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-04T03:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30674"},"modified":"2018-09-03T16:49:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T14:49:11","slug":"french-culture-driving-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-culture-driving-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"French Culture – Driving in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

My son and I just got back from ten amazing days in France. We were going back to revisit<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

La conduite en France<\/strong> \/\u00a0Driving in France<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Not sure what all the highlighted terms mean? The table below includes useful rental-car-related vocabulary to help you out.<\/div>\n

First of all, if you are going to\u00a0louer une voiture en France<\/strong> you need to know what kind of car you want. While most cars come standard with\u00a0une bo\u00eete de vitesse manuelle <\/strong>you can get\u00a0des voitures de location avec bo\u00eete de vitesse automatique.<\/strong> I like to get mine with\u00a0bo\u00eete manuelle<\/strong> (you might also hear\u00a0bo\u00eete normalle<\/strong>) because I think that it makes driving that much more fun. Of course,\u00a0pour louer une voiture<\/strong>, you will need a valid\u00a0permis de conduire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When your adventures are through and you want to return your\u00a0voiture de location<\/strong> to the\u00a0agence<\/strong> (the rental agency),\u00a0<\/em>you will need to\u00a0faire le plein<\/strong> to avoid paying extra\u00a0pour l’essence<\/strong>. Many\u00a0voitures<\/strong> in France use le gazole <\/strong>(or gazoil<\/strong>) so make sure you know and use the right kind of\u00a0essence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Faire attention<\/strong> \/ Pay attention<\/em><\/p>\n

When I first went to France<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. France has a system of automated cameras and radar that will snap a picture of your car if you’re driving too fast! These\u00a0radars<\/strong> (radars)<\/em> are\u00a0signal\u00e9s<\/strong> (indicated)<\/em> with road-side signs, so keep your eyes open … or you might get\u00a0flash\u00e9<\/strong> (the term the French use for getting snapped by the\u00a0radars<\/strong>)\u00a0<\/em> and have to pay\u00a0une amende <\/strong>(a fine).<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. 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.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
    Fran\u00e7ais<\/b><\/th>English<\/i><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    la voiture
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		the car<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    une voiture de location
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		a rental car<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    louer une voiture
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		to rent a car<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    faire le plein
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		to fill up\/fill the gas tank<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    l'essence
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		gas<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    le gazole
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		diesel<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    le permis de conduire
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		the driver's license<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    la bo\u00eete de vitesse
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		transmission<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    la bo\u00eete de vitesse manuelle
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		manual transmission<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    la bo\u00eete de vitesse automatique
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		automatic transmission<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    la limite de vitesse
    Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_safe_remote_get(). A valid URL was not provided.<\/div><\/b><\/td>
    		the speed limit<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

    Pour finir \/\u00a0<\/strong>finally<\/em><\/p>\n

    Enjoy this driving-related chanson<\/b> (song)\u00a0<\/em>from the great chanteur\u00a0<\/strong>(singer)<\/em> Joe Dassin<\/a>. And for some more great car-related vocabulary, see this post<\/a> from last summer.<\/p>\n