Check the Crit'Air disc on the windscreen before you leave the car park, move the vest into the cabin, and pay the barrier-free tolls within 72 hours.
Hertz France holds the rental price, at least €200 for fuel and €500 more if you refuse SuperCover; Europcar holds €300 in France, €100 with its excess cover. Each fine on a Hertz France car carries a €19.99 fee on top. A licence from outside the EU needs an international driving permit or an official French translation.
France is where hire-car drivers meet the most paperwork at once: a sticker only the car's keeper can order, motorway sections with no barrier, and a €135 fine for a vest left in its bag. Most of it is decided in the first five minutes at the rental car park.
Expect a Hold of €300 or More
Europcar publishes its deposit for France: €300, or €100 if you take the cover that cuts your excess to zero. Vans carry €800, and prestige cars €1,000 or €1,500.
Hertz France holds what you owe at the start, plus a full tank or charge of at least €200, plus €500 if you do not buy SuperCover. Put it on a credit card, not a debit card: hire car deposits.
Look for the Crit'Air Disc Before You Drive Off
Low-emission zones (ZFE) in French cities let in only cars with a Crit'Air disc on the windscreen. Driving into one without it costs €68.
The disc is sold only at certificat-air.gouv.fr, and only to whoever holds the registration document. On a hire car, that is the rental company. You cannot order one from the car park, so look at the bottom right of the glass before you sign. No disc, ask for another car. The zones and their hours: France's low-emission zones.
Move the Vest Into the Cabin
France requires a CE-marked high-visibility vest within reach inside the cabin and a warning triangle. Failing to show them at a check costs up to €38. Failing to use them after a breakdown usually costs €135, up to €750. In a hire car, check where they are and move the vest to the door pocket before you set off.
Pay the Barrier-Free Tolls Within 72 Hours
Most French motorways have barriers: take a ticket, pay by card at the exit. On the A13 and A14 between Paris and Normandy, the A79 and the Boulay interchange there is no barrier. A camera reads the plate, and you pay online within 72 hours.
On a hire car an unpaid toll goes to the rental company, which pays it and recharges you with its fee. I'd pay the same day, by number plate: free-flow tolls in France and Italy.
Know the Fines, and the €19.99 on Top
Offence
Fine
Under 20 km/h over, where the limit is above 50
€68
Under 20 km/h over, where the limit is 50 or less
€135
20 to 49 km/h over
€135
Phone in the hand, or anything in your ear
€135
Alcohol, 0.5 to 0.8 g/l
usually €135, up to €750
Low-emission zone without a Crit'Air disc
€68
A €135 fine drops to €90, and a €68 fine to €45, if paid within 15 days. A radar detector can cost up to €1,500, and it is confiscated.
On a hire car the notice goes to the rental company first. Hertz France adds an indemnité forfaitaire amende of €19.99 per fine, printed on the tariff sheet each branch displays. Europcar France displays its amount in the branch. Photograph the sheet: hire car fines.
Speed limits are 50 km/h in towns, 80 on ordinary roads, 110 on dual carriageways and 130 on motorways. In rain they drop to 80, 100 and 110. The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l. Everything else is on driving in France.
Bring an International Permit or a French Translation
For a short stay of under six months, a licence from outside the EU is valid in France with an international driving permit or an official translation. A translation made abroad must be legalised or apostilled. One made in France must be by an approved translator or by the embassy in France of the country that issued the licence.
For a Taiwanese licence, Taiwan's Highway Bureau says the Taiwanese international driving permit is accepted in France for one year; France's own page says a short stay is under six months. A Hong Kong international driving permit is issued under the 1949 Geneva convention.
Book Chains for the Mountains, and Seats for Under-10s
From 1 November to 31 March, designated mountain communes require four snowflake tyres, or chains or snow socks in the boot. A hire contract does not include them unless you ask: winter kit on a hire car.
Children under 10 must use a seat suited to their size and must not sit in the front, with a few exceptions. Book the seats with the car.
Ask Before You Leave France
Hertz France charges a cross-border fee of €16. Driving to a country its terms forbid voids every insurance and waiver and adds a €500 penalty, with up to €2,317 for bringing the car back. Ask before you book: crossing borders in a hire car.
Where to leave the car, from our sister site. Each card is the short version; the full guide has every car park, the tow pound and the charging points.
ParkingInEurope
Paris
A city that charges by the hour, by the zone and by the kilo. Come on a Sunday.
Best bet
Sundays and public holidays: all street parking is free. On weekdays, a Saemes garage costs €39–45 for 24 hours; the Bois de Vincennes sells a €3 three-hour ticket Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri.
Watch out
Unpaid parking costs €75 (zone 1) or €50 (zone 2); €225 / €150 for heavy cars. Max 6 hours per spot. August is not free. Crit'Air sticker needed inside the A86.
The kerb is €2 for the first hour and free after 19:00; an LPA garage caps the night at €7.70. Put a Crit'Air sticker on the glass first: the ZFE runs 24/7, motorway included.
Best bet
Saint-Jean: €3.40 an hour, €7.70 for 20:00–09:00, at the foot of Vieux Lyon. Roof 1.80 m.
Watch out
Crit'Air sticker compulsory for foreign cars in the ZFE, 24/7, M6 and M7 included. Crit'Air 3 and worse banned. Car fine €68.
Ten park-and-rides that cost nothing, and a street tariff that stops dead at 2h15.
Best bet
A Parcazur park-and-ride: the space costs nothing if you make a return trip by Lignes d'Azur the same day. The "1 Aller-retour" ticket is €3.40 and includes that day's parking.
Watch out
On-street parking is capped at 2h15 and the meter sells nothing longer. Overstay and it is a €25 forfait post-stationnement.