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French number plates end with a number of the ''département'' the car is registered in. For example, [[Paris]]ian cars end with numbers 75, 78, 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95. See Wikipedia articles on
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_vehicle_registration_plates French vehicle registration plates] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_arrondissements_of_France Arrondissements of France]. New number plates are in use since mid-2009. They have an optional reference to the department on the blue stripe at the right side, but they technically are not part of the plate, and do not necessarily refer to the owner's address - one may for example choose to put the number of the department where he/she was born. Cars that belong to companies, including rental ones usually bear "60" or "76" since tax on corporate vehicles is the lowest there. The existing old plates will be still in use for a while.
==Issues with Law Enforcement==
There are three law enforcement agencies to contend with in France. The Police Nationale, the Gendarmerie and the Douane.
The '''Police Nationale''' are tasked with policing urban areas with a more than 20,000 inhabitants, and the surrounding highway infrastructure. They will rarely stop you, but they are well known for their less than sympathetic nature and occasionally affiliation with fascist organisations. They are a government agency bound by official targets, which means that if you are stopped, they will be looking for reasons to impose fines. Even so, they have no legal right to stop you engaging in lawful activities as long as you are not creating a hazard or committing some other offence. Remain calm and use your right to silence, only asking '''"am I free to go"''' repeatedly, and you should be ok.
The '''Gendarmerie''' is a military agency tasked with policing all of the French Republic where the population is lower than 20,000. If you treat them with courtesy, they will most likely be professional and courteous in return. Sometimes they will offer to take you to a safer or easier location to hitchhike from. Only if you are creating a hazard will they issue fines.
The '''Douanes''' are the customs agency for the French Republic. They patrol close to borders, looking for suspicious activity. '''They have a right to check your Identification if you are within 20km of the border''', but they require a reasonable suspicion ''(article 78 of the Code de Procédure Pénale)'' at all other times. They are often active on highways and péages going south from [[Belgium]] and [[Luxembourg]], looking for hitchhikers from the [[Netherlands]] who may be carrying cannabis. They are however quite professional, and after a few questions about your direction of travel, will let you go on your way.
== [[Food]]/[[Money]] ==
