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[[Image:Perpignan bridgeoveronramp.jpg{{infobox Country|thumbcountry = France|rightmap = <map lat='47' lng='1.5' zoom='5' view='0' height='320' country='France'/>|250pxlanguage = French (regional languages: Alsatian, Occitan, Breton, Corsican, Basque, Catalan, ...)|On ramp bridge near capital = [[Perpignan]]Paris]]|pop = 65,8 million|currency = Euro (€)|hitch = <rating country='fr' />|BW = FR}}'''France''' is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. The highways cost moneyDrivers have to pay toll on motorways (except in [[Bretagne|Brittany]]), and you can get a ride quite easily at some ''[[Péage|barrières de péage]]'' (toll pointsstations). When hitchhiking on local roads, you might face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France (as in many foreign countries) is the language - you can get a ride easilymight wanna learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.

Finding a good spot Like everywhere in Europe, walking on the motorways is illegal and thus it's also illegal to hitchhike there. If you are picked up the key of getting police you may be fined, however the best rides. For instance, in [[Montpellier]] there Gendarmerie are two spots very close likely to simply give you a lift to each otherthe next toll stop. The first one is easy to reachUse service areas, nevertheless, the second one isn't much peages and on-ramps. Moreover some experience shows that French people will more difficult, but the chances of being picked up are much betteroften stop in a place where it is not normally allowed than in other countries.

==Péages==[[Image:peage.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A typical big péage in France]]A It may also be helpful to write '''péageS.V.P.''' is a tollway in France. They are often placed near cities on autoroutes (motorways). At some péages all the traffic has to stop and pay and are excellent spots to get your sign with a longdestination name -distance ride. You can get free maps in the péage offices - these also indicate where you can find "all-stop-péages".Here itis short for ''s a map of south of France highway network : http://www.asf.fr/shared/pdf/CarteReseau.pdf In black letters where it's written "peage de....." it mean itil vous plaît''s a big peage where all the trafic have to stop. The faster way to travel is only to go from this "all(sih-stopvoo-péages" to an other oneplay) which means ''please'' in French.

[[Image:Derek_hitching_at_péageOn Sundays, only trucks with frozen goods are allowed to drive.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Derek hitching at a péage near [[Valence]]]]===Getting a Ride===* You can thumb immediately after the péage;* If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane Keep in mind though that trucks are not allowed to go more than 90 km/h and stand next to the toll machine and talk to drivers when they driver must stop to pay (as pictured to left);* You for a 45 min break every 4 1/2 hours, which can wait before the péage, just where make the drivers choose their lane. There is mostly enough space for cars to pull over heretrip much longer.

Some péages are really good, some not so The ''"Michelin 726 National"'' map of France is a goodchoice for a hitchhiker in this country. If youIt shows all the major ''barrières de péage''ve been waiting for a while with destination sign, drop it and try with your thumb only[[rest area|service stations]]. Also, you You can try to get a ride to the next good spot free map in the wrong directionpéage offices.

===Legality=''Autoroutes'', ''péages'' and ''barrières de péage'' ==There are no prohibitions about hitching in France, apart from the restricted access roads, i__TOC__'''Péage''' ([http://cs1.eimtranslator. expressways and motorwaysnet/SL/Free_Projects/169679760/cs_10132017_15_58_47_1. Péages are also considered part of the motorway, and normally one wav?param1=001024 audio]) is not allowed to solicit rides therea French word for ''toll''. However, this It is not really enforced and since 2004, also commonly used as referring to [[User:Daniel|Danieltoll station]], was only told once to get off the tollbooth and ask for a ride on the parking nearby (what was difficult because there was no services except toilets). But the risk is relatively lows.

==Language==Most In France, most of the French don't speak English, so have a map motorways are toll roads which are the fastest way to show them where you want to gohitch across the country. If you know any French, use it! French people like it if you try your bestThere are two types of toll stations on péages. Say "Bonjour Monsieur/Madame"First, there are big ones where all traffic has to show that you are friendly. If you're heading stop to [[Germany]], you maybe need pay a fee (or to know that Germany is get a ticket) - these are ''Allemagnebarrières de péage'' and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride and make it really easy to hitchhike during the night. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations (all-ay-man'yethe first type) in Frenchcan be a difficult place to hitch from, too.

It To reach the ''barrière de péage'', you may also need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be helpful walked is not too long. It is actually illegal to put walk on a side lane of the motorway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (''voie express'S.V.P.''' after your destination ) in France); if police sees you use , you will be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for ~90€. Péage toll stations are considered a signpart of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. ItYou may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each 's shorthand for 'barrière de péage's'il vous plaît'. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you' re not endangering yourself or others. Having a sign with your destination (sih-voo-playor the next city)--please in Frenchis recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant.

==Online maps==[http://mappy.fr mappy] The fastest way to travel on a péage is a good online map for France, it shows you (from one ''barrière de péage'' to) where you can take public transportanother.Hitchhiking options are:

==License plates==French number plates end with the number of * You can thumb immediately after the ''départementbarrière de péage''* If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you' re at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the car toll machines but it is registered ingenerally tolerated). For example* You can wait before the ''barrière de péage'', Parisian cars end with just where the number 75. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_arrondissements_of_France List drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of arrondissements of France] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_vehicle_registration_plates French vehicle registration plates] at Wikipediaspace for cars to pull over to stop for you.

==Cities==[[Image:Mrtweek mzenzes hitching in franceSome ''barrière de péage'' are really good, some are not.png|thumb|right|250px|[[User:Mzenzes|Martin]] If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it and [[User:MrTweek|Philipp]] hitching in France]]* [[Paris]], the capital, hitching out of here is really difficult.* [[Agen]]* [[Bordeaux]]* [[Calais]] - the main ferryport to the British Islandstry thumbing.* [[Dunkerque]]* [[Lille]]* [[Dijon]]* [[Lyon]]* [[Marseilles]]* [[Rennes]]* [[Strasbourg]]* [[Toulouse]]* [[Montpellier]]* [[Perpignan]]* [[Reims]]

While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one [[Category:Francepetrol station hitchhiking|*]] [[Category:Europepetrol station]]to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers.

== [[lhLicense plates|Number plates]] ==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. ==Law Enforcement==<gallery style="float:right; width:200px; margin-left:25px;>Image:Mrtweek mzenzes hitching in france.png|[[User:Mzenzes|Martin]] and [[User:MrTweek|Philipp]] hitching in France.Image:Derek_hitching_at_péage.jpg|Derek hitching at a péage near [[Valence]].Image:Cynthia_hitching.jpg|Cynthia hitchhiking out of [[Paris]].Image:Tokyohitch.jpg|[[Lille]]-[[Tokyo]] direct ride, 5-min deal.Image:Perpignan bridgeoveronramp.jpg|On ramp bridge near [[Perpignan]].Image:Spot-sharing.jpg|Sharing knowledge on spots to hitch out of Paris during the [[project 888|888]] event.Image:peage.jpg|A typical ''barrière de péage'' in France.Image:Pat_e_Suh.jpg|Pat & Suh hitchhiking after a barrière de péage in France :).</gallery>There are three law National 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 more than 20,000 inhabitants, and the surrounding highway infrastructure. As such, you will rarely encounter them while thumbing.* The '''Douanes''' are the customs agency for the French Republic. They patrol close to borders, looking for suspicious activity. They are often active on highways and péages going south from [[Belgium]] and [[Luxembourg]], looking for people transporting large amounts of tobacco or looking for hitchhikers from the [[Netherlands]] who may be carrying cannabis. * The '''Gendarmerie''' is a military agency tasked with policing all of the French Republic where the population is lower than 20,000. They are the enforcement agency you will have the most chance to encounter while on the road. To make a long story short, in France, it is expected that any person can prove its identity when requested by an agent of these agencies. The easiest and most common way to do it is to show them an official ID ; however it cans also be done by having someone testify that you are indeed the person you say you are. Agents on patrol, especially Gendrames, can stop to ask you questions. Most of the time, they will ask you where are you headed, maybe a few other vague questions, remind you that hitchhiking is illegal on the highways (even if you are not on a highway at the moment), wish you a nice day and drive away. If they ask you for a proof of identity, the best thing would be to thow them an official ID ; however if you cooperate somewhat they probably won't go even that far. Furthermore, many cities have local police deparments called '''Police Municipale'''. They have less authority than national agencies, but can call other agencies to do the work they legally can't. == Personal Experiences ==''In my experience it's pretty much impossible to go hungry in France. While hitching I almost ALWAYS get 10 or 5 euros thrown my way, and once even 60 euro! The key is to imply you have no money (helps the guilt if you actually don't have any like I did). Ask where you can use the internet or a phone, but WITHOUT PAYING, and 90% of the time they'll tell you "I'll drop you off at the station/road/town with 10 euros, alright?" It's not really possible without having a good standard of communication though, so either hope they know English or learn some French! I also wouldn't recommend doing "it" if you have no money or already had access to the internet or a phone, solely because of guilt. Even though I was genuine in my requests I didn't feel happy taking their money, but food is food!'' - Aaronishappy  ''France is great because it has roundabouts, which makes for slow traffic on the smaller roads. Of course, the big highways are off-limits in many cases, but that's alright. Beautiful countryside, good people. For me I enjoyed eating lots of cheese and lots of baguettes, as cliche as that may sound.'' - [[User:Chael777|Chael]] "Don't be afraid to approach people at service stations just because your French is weak (or, like me, non-existent). After a quick 'bonjour', or 'vous allez ou?', people were happy to help. Many people didn't speak English, with some I got by in Spanish, and with 3 or 4 we had no language in common at all. Nevertheless, people were still kind and willing to help." - [[User:Justunein|Justunein]] "My Hitch in France went marvellously! Check this, I was walking along the street in Nimes, minding my own business, and a woman pulled up in a car and asked me if I wanted to hitch to Marseille! She asked me!! When we got there, she showed me around and I slept on her sofa (whenever I tell French men about this they invariably respond 'Did you ''fork'' her?'). The next day, I got 5 hitches from Marseille to Limans, and for 3 of them all I had to do was hold up a cardboard sign and the first car that came picked me up. I was going to write that it's like taking the bus, ''but you have to wait for busses!'' As a bonus, the people who I hitched with were really nice, so much so that one of them lied and said that my French wasn't so bad! Oh yeah, and the bit about French bakeries is incomplete. They have pastries round the back too!!" I can also said France is very good country for hitchhiking, people are very friendly. Even that they do not speak a lot of English, they will try to help you. One driver also take me in one restaurant near high way even that I did not want that he spend money to by me something to eat. It was nice to cross from Spain to Germany in two days with hitchhiking. I started my first hitchhike tour in France and found out that most French people are very kind and in most cases they are happy to take you with them. But I think it's really helpful to speak even a little bit French so you can say want you want and where you want to go because most of French people don't like to speak english or maybee they are not able to.Espacally in the south of france it's also possible to travel short distances by train for free, because most of them are not controlled. In case of controlling you can say that you're out of money and in most cases they will not send you a bill because it is to complicated for them to find you in your home country. And even if you are in bad luck and they will find you the price is not even higher than the ticket for the train. == Resources =={{nomadwiki}}* [http:FR//mappy.fr/ Mappy]is a good online map service for France in case you want to know where certain public transport goes to.* [http://www.asf.fr/shared/pdf/CarteReseau.pdf Le Réseau ASF], a PDF file that shows all ''barrières de péage'' on major routes in Southern France.* [http://www.vinci-autoroutes.com/system/files/pdf/2012/12/carte_reseau_vinci_autoroutes.pdf Service Stations Network], a pdf file that shows all service station on major routes in southern France.  {{wikilinksCities France}}{{Regions France}}{{Template:Europe/countries}} {{IsIn|Western Europe}}__NOTOC__[[digi:France]] [[Category:France| ]][[Category:Western Europe]] [[de:Frankreich]][[es:Francia]][[fr:France]][[pl:Francja]]