You've got questions, we've got answers. Here are some tips to real queries from Expatica readers. What's a 'voiture sans permis'? What are the rules on riding a motorcycle? And more.

Our mission at Expatica is to help keep you current and reduce your administrative headaches so you can get on with enjoying life in France. But, as always, we remind you that your fellow expats on My Expatica are your best and fastest resources for these kinds of questions: After all, lots of them have 'been there, done that!'

I am a US citizen spending about four months a year in Nice. In the US I have a 1991 348TS Ferrari that I seldom use because I am in France in the nice weather. I would really like to ship the car to France and keep it here. I bought the auto used in the US about 5 years ago. It is registered and titled in Washington State. What do you recommend? Do I pay VAT since it was bought used, but in the US?  The value on the car is EUR 45,000 to 50,000.

— Mike in Nice

We completely understand why you like the idea of tooling about in your Ferrari on the Riviera. Single, right? But we have to tell you that getting the chick-magnet car over here is not a trivial task.

To import the car duty- and VAT-free, you'd have to establish that you're moving to France full-time. You could also import it without duty or taxes as a 'tourist', that is, someone who stays in the European Union for less than 185 days in a calendar year and does not work here or want to work here. But you'd have to send it back within six months. Trainees, interns, and students in French schools and colleges can also temporarily import vehicles without paying taxes (for up to 12 months). By the way, those exempted from import taxes are not allowed to sell the car over here.

If you want to leave your Ferrari here permanently but live in France only part-time, then you'll have to pay duty taxes and the VAT. And it's not cheap. Calculate 10 percent of the car's value for duty- (for Americans and Canadians) plus 19.6 percent for the VAT plus, of course, the cost of shipping. The car's value is established by the 'transaction price', that is, what you paid for it assuming you can provide an invoice or seller's certificate. Otherwise, they'll look up its value in the Argus, the French Blue Book.

Plus, of course, there is a lot of other paperwork involved.

For example, you'll have to prove that it meets French safety standards; you verify this by contacting the DRIRE (Direction Régionale de l’Industrie, de la Recherche et de l’Environnement), keeper of all product-safety codes. But be warned: odds are it won't pass and you'll have to pay for the modifications.

Then, presuming you go this far, you must register the car in France and get French plates.

If it's still irrisistable, Googling 'car import France' will turn up a bunch of companies that specialise in this and will walk you through the paperwork — for a price.

The American Embassy has helpfully published details on the process online, but don't expect any direct assistance; they will certainly send you to deal with French customs directly. 

But, frankly, unless you have a garage that's locked up like Fort Knox, leaving your fancy car in the South of France for several months a year is probably not your best idea ever?

 

Is it possible to obtain a copy of the 'Code de la Route' copied into English and if so from where?  Also is it possible to get example test questions translated into English?

— David

Yes, sort of. WHSmith in Paris carries a partial translation of the French driving code.  The website Americans in France also offers a 'study guide' in English, as well as lots of other great practical information in English about living in France.

When you go to take the test, you also have the right to take an interpreter with you and, for once, it can be simply a friend or relative and not an official interpreter.

But this alone will not get you your license. We hate to scare you but the truth is that the test is not hard because it's in French—it's hard because it's designed to trip you up. This is why there's a driving school on every third street corner in France.

The US Embassy website has a list of driving schools with English-speaking teachers, but when we called, the English-speaking teacher at every listing had left except for this one: the Fehrenbach International Driving School. You could probably find more if you systematically went through the list of driving schools in the Paris phonebook.

But unless your French is really bare-bones, we always encourage people to take the test in French.

To make it easier, invest in either a CD-ROM or a subscription to one of several online sites that provide practice tests. Take our word for it: don't even attempt the written test until you can consistently pass the practice tests. Then you will have to apply through a driving school for the physical driving test as it must be conducted in a car with dual controls. (You do have the right to an automatic transmission car; make sure your school has one if this is what you want.)

I would be interested in the rules regarding motorcycle driving in France.  I spend much time in the south of France, after having driven from Germany.  I am always amazed at the dangerous driving habits of most motorcycle drivers in France (i.e. passing on solid lines on both the right and left sides of cars). I've seen several motorcycle accidents, but never have seen the police stop motorcycle drivers who are endangering the lives of others. 

— Jerry in the South of France

French motorcycle riders, les motards, actually claim they are harassed by the police but we don't know if that's true.

What is certainly true that the recent, dramatic drops in accident and mortality rates on French roads are only true for cars; the accident rates for two-wheeled vehicles, also pedestrians, are still frighteningly high, and are involved in more than 50 percent of fatal accidents.

The most endangered species of French driver are teenage boys on scooters. The government has tried focus on this problem with new rules, for example, including making it harder to get a brevet de sécurité routière, which is what they require. (See this Code de la Route website, in French only, for all the rules pertaining to the different license classes; motorcycle riders above the age of 21 need the Permis A.)

The driving code, la code de la route, is exactly the same for all vehicles, with the obvious exception that scooter and motorcycle riders must wear helmets at all times; they are certainly not supposed to cross solid white lines! They are also supposed to respect the same safety distances between vehicles as cars and are prohibited from driving in bicycle or bus lanes as well as on the sidewalk.

Our pet peeve is when they sneak past you on the right-hand side to get to the corner, a trick especially popular at rond points. They're not supposed to do that either.

But cutting through lanes is legal, although 'déconseillé'. It's also legal to take a child over 5 years old as a passenger as long as they're wearing a helmet of the right size.

 

Your 'Guide to driving in France' is very useful but makes no mention of 'voitures sans permis'. Do you have any plans to publish anything about them?

— Brian

Yes, in fact, right now.

This brand of tiny, 'toy' car doesn't require a driving license because it can't go faster than 45 km/h and has an engine the same size as a quad, which also doesn't require a license. They can't be more than three metres long.

These cars are adorable and easy — well, easier — to park in Paris, but they are an expensive way to get around the driving license requirements. Renting one is a snap, but a new Voiture Sans Permis will cost about EUR 10,000. And remember: they can't go on the freeway.

Likewise, anyone born over January 1, 1988 must have a brevet de sécurité routière (BSR) and, see answer above, these are not exactly just handed out.

Furthermore, even if you're older than that, you still have to insure a voiture sans permis and many of the major insurance companies require a BSR even if the gendarmes don't.

Still, these cars are very fashionable in Paris and a BSR is still certainly easier to obtain than a real license.

If you're still tempted, here's an online list of manufacturers to start with; it's a rapidly changing market though so make sure you do additional research before plunking down your EUR 10,000.

 

We own an apartment in the Haute Savoie and spend about 3 - 4 months a year there. We would like to take our English car and register it in France so that we can leave it there. We have recently been told that the rules have changed and it is no longer possible to register the car if we are not fiscally resident in France. Is this correct and if so is there any way round the problem?

— Linda in the Haute Savoie

Well, yes and no. We like that answer; we're going to use it for everything.

If you drive it here only a few months a year, you could probably get away with keeping British plates; people who stay only several months are not required to change their plates.

But as you are leaving it here, it's probably a good idea to register it in France. What if it's stolen when you're not here?

The procedure for obtaining a carte grise, French registration papers needed to get French plates, requires only a justificatif de domicile. This could be a telephone or gas bill, which you certainly have as you own your apartment.

You do not need to have a tax home in France. But you do need a Certificate of Permanent Export. You can apply for it through the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency but then you need to get that piece of paper stamped by British customs the next time you cross over with the car.

We've heard this complaint from other readers as well; it seems to be another example of certain préfectures having interpreted a lack of a requirement to obtain certain documents with a prohibition from obtaining certain documents.

We have to point out, however, that if you leave a car through the winter in the Haute Savoie, you may well have trouble starting it when you get back next summer.

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February 2, 2007

Copyright Expatica

Subject: Living in France, driving in France, motorcycles in France, voiture sans permis, code de la route, carte grise, registering