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|map = <map lat='47' lng='1.5' zoom='5' view='0' height='320' country='France'/>|language = French(regional languages: Alsatian, Occitan, Breton, Corsican, Basque, Catalan, ...)

|pop = 6465,102,1408 million|currency = Euro ( € )|hitch = {{good}} (<rating country='fr'good'')/>|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 can get a ride easilymight face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France (as in many foreign countries) is the language - you might wanna learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.

== General Info ==There are no prohibitions about hitching Like everywhere in FranceEurope, apart from walking on the motorways is illegal and thus it's also illegal to hitchhike there. If you are picked up the restricted access roadspolice you may be fined, ihowever the Gendarmerie are likely to simply give you a lift to the next toll stop.eUse service areas, peages and on-ramps. expressways and motorwaysMoreover some experience shows that French people will more often stop in a place where it is not normally allowed than in other countries. (See below)

Choosing the good spot is the key of getting the best rides. For instance, in [[Montpellier]] there are two spots very close to each other. The first one is easy It may also be helpful to reach, nevertheless, the second one isnwrite 't much more difficult, but the chances of being picked up are much better.<map lat='46' lng=S.V.P.'2' zoom='5' view='0' float='right' height='300' country='France'/>Most of the French don't speak English, so have on your sign with a map to show them where you want to go. If you know any French, use destination name - it! French people like it if you try your best. Say is short for ''Bonjour Monsieur/Madames'il vous plaît', to show that you are friendly. If you're heading to [[Germany]], you maybe need to know that [[Germany]] is (sih-voo-play) which means ''Allemagneplease'' (all-ay-man'ye) in French.

It may also be helpful On Sundays, only trucks with frozen goods are allowed to put '''Sdrive.V.P.''' after your destination if you use Keep in mind though that trucks are not allowed to go more than 90 km/h and the driver must stop for a sign. It's shorthand for ''s'il vous plaît'' (sih-voo-play) = please in French45 min break every 4 1/2 hours, which can make the trip much longer.

The ''"Michelin 726 National"'' map of France is a good choice for a hitchhiker in this country. It shows all the major ''barrières de péage'' and [[rest area|service stations]]. You can get a free map in péage offices. == ''Autoroutes & Péages '', ''péages'' and ''barrières de péage'' ==__TOC__'''Péage''' ([[Imagehttp:peage//cs1.imtranslator.net/SL/Free_Projects/169679760/cs_10132017_15_58_47_1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A typical big péage in Francewav?param1=001024 audio]]) is a French word for ''toll'Autoroute''' means "motorway" in French. Most It is also commonly used as referring to [[toll station]]s. In France, most of them the motorways are toll roads, and which are the fastest way to hitch across he the country. A '''péage''' is a toll booth. There are two types of '''toll stations on péages''': Big . First, there are big ones, where all the traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket (called also "Barrière ) - these are ''barrières de Péage", i.e. "Toll Barrier". These péage'' and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride, usually 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 this kind of péages the latter ones traffic is much smaller and , therefore one can expect a longer waiting times longertime, although sometimes congested toll stations (the first type) can be a difficult place to hitch from, too. To reach the ''barrière de péage'', but you may need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if it the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is located near actually illegal to walk on a relatively big town or on side lane of the crossing with a motorway (same is valid for some parts of national road itroads (''voie express''s pretty ok) in France); if police sees you, you will be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for ~90€. At this type Péage toll stations are considered a part of péagesthe motorway, and legally you do not have the road usually splits in two on-ramps going right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each direction''barrière de péage''. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), so most toll station employees simply want to make sure you might need 're not endangering yourself or others. Having a sign with your directiondestination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant.__NOTOC__You can get free maps in the péage offices - these also indicate where you can find "all-stop-péages". The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one of these ''barrière de péage'' to the nextanother. Here Hitchhiking options are some information how to get a lift from péages:[[Image:Derek_hitching_at_péage.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Derek hitching at a péage near [[Valence]]]]* You can thumb immediately after the ''barrière 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 and , stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (as pictured usually it is not allowed to lefthitch from the toll machines but it is generally tolerated);.* You can wait before the ''barrière de péage'', just where the drivers choose their lane. There - there is mostly often enough of space for cars to pull over hereto stop for you. Some péages ''barrière de péage'' are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while with using a destination sign, drop it and try with your thumb onlythumbing. Also While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one [[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol station]] to get another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers. == [[License plates|Number plates]] ==French number plates end with a ride 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 next good spot lowest there. The existing old plates will be still in the wrong directionuse 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:Perpignan bridgeoveronrampDerek_hitching_at_péage.jpg|thumbDerek hitching at a péage near [[Valence]].Image:Cynthia_hitching.jpg|rightCynthia hitchhiking out of [[Paris]].Image:Tokyohitch.jpg|250px[[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. Also* 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 always hitch from one gas station 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 anotherask you questions. Most of the time, they will ask you where are you headed, maybe a few other vague questions, either asking remind you that hitchhiking is illegal on the highways (even if you are not on a highway at the exit from 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 shopwork 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 entrance rampstation/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. The staff usually don Many people didn't care about hitchhikersspeak 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]]

It is forbidden "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 stay on the motorway itselfMarseille! She asked me!! When we got there, as well as she showed me around and I slept on some parts of national roads her sofa ("Voie express"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, so ''but you have to stick to entrances/gas stationswait 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!!"

Péages I can also said France is very good country for hitchhiking, people are also considered part very friendly. Even that they do not speak a lot of the motorwayEnglish, and technically they will try to help you. One driver also take me in one is restaurant near high way even that I did not allowed want that he spend money to by me something to sollicit rides there, but in reality this is not really enforcedeat. Since 2004, [[User:Daniel|Daniel]], It was only told once nice to get off the tollbooth and ask for a ride on the parking nearby (what was difficult because there was no services except toilets). So the risk is relatively low. '''Beware''' that this is enforced at the péage cross from Spain to cross the Viaduc de Millau at A75 & D911Germany in two days with hitchhiking.

== Cities ==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.[[Image:Mrtweek mzenzes hitching Espacally in the south of franceit's also possible to travel short distances by train for free, because most of them are not controlled.png|thumb|right|250px|[[User:Mzenzes|Martin]] In case of controlling you can say that you're out of money and [[User:MrTweek|Philipp]] hitching in France]]* [[Agen]]* [[Bordeaux]]* [[Calais]] - 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 main ferryport to ticket for the British Islandstrain.* [[Dijon]], [[Dol de Bretagne]], [[Dunkerque]]* [[Grenoble]]* [[Lille]], [[Lyon]]* [[Marseille]], [[Montpellier]]* [[Nice]]* [[Paris]], [[Perpignan]]* [[Reims]], [[Rennes]]* [[Saint Brieuc]], [[Strasbourg]]* [[Toulouse]]

== Number plates Resources ==French number plates end with the number of the ''département'' the car {{nomadwiki}}* [http://mappy.fr/ Mappy] is registered a good online map service for France incase you want to know where certain public transport goes to. For example, [[Paris|Parisian]] cars end with the number 75, 78, 91,92,93,94,95. See * [http://enwww.wikipediaasf.orgfr/wikishared/List_of_arrondissements_of_France List of arrondissements of pdf/CarteReseau.pdf Le Réseau ASF], a PDF file that shows all ''barrières de péage'' on major routes in Southern France] and .* [http://enwww.wikipediavinci-autoroutes.orgcom/system/wikifiles/French_vehicle_registration_plates French vehicle registration platespdf/2012/12/carte_reseau_vinci_autoroutes.pdf Service Stations Network] at Wikipedia, a pdf file that shows all service station on major routes in southern France.

[[depl:FrankreichFrancja]]