Penalties and rules described here apply in France only.
Key takeaways
- In 2024, the French road safety agency counted 4,068 cameras: 3,423 fixed, 420 relocatable and 225 mobile.
- Fixed, two-sided and turret cameras check from the front or the rear, in one or both directions, so a motorcycle’s rear plate is covered.
- Technical margin: 5 km/h below 100 km/h and 5% above for a fixed camera, double that for camera cars.
- Seeing no flash proves nothing: camera cars photograph with infrared.
- French cameras are approved for speed, red lights and level crossings, not for phone use or seatbelts (road safety agency, April 2025).
Spot speed
Fixed and vehicle-discriminating cameras: what do they check?
A fixed camera measures your instantaneous speed at one spot. It was France’s first automated camera, introduced in 2003 on the RN 20, and it is announced by a road sign. The retained speed is the measured speed minus a technical margin of 5 km/h below 100 km/h, or 5% above.
A vehicle-discriminating camera tells vehicle categories apart, heavy goods vehicles in particular, to apply each one’s speed limit. It also identifies the lane, so it can pinpoint the offending vehicle when several appear in the photo.
Front or rear? French fixed cameras, including two-sided units introduced in 2014 and turrets, check from the front or the rear, in one or both directions. A motorcycle carries a single plate, at the rear, so the rear shot is the one that identifies it. Which way the housing faces tells you nothing about which side it photographs.
Sources ANTAI: speed cameras in France Road safety agency brochure (French) French Highway Code: rear plate, Article R317-8
Average speed
Average-speed cameras: how is the average calculated?
An average-speed camera measures your mean speed over several kilometres. Cameras at the entry and exit read number plates and timestamp each pass. The exit unit calculates the average, and that is where the offence is recorded.
The maths is simple: 10 km covered in 6 minutes is an average of 100 km/h, whatever your speed past the cameras. The limit applies to the whole section. On a map, a section often shows as a single pin, while the monitored zone runs from entry to exit. France’s first was installed in 2012 on the RN 57 near Besançon.
Sources ANTAI: average-speed cameras Road safety agency brochure (French)
Junctions
Red-light cameras: when are they triggered?
A red-light camera takes two photos: one as you cross the stop line on red, and a second if you carry on past the light. It is triggered only on red, even though an amber light already requires you to stop. There is no warning sign: the light itself is the signal.
In France, failing to stop at a red light, steady or flashing, is a 4th-class offence: a €135 fixed fine, 4 points deducted and a licence suspension of up to 3 years. Every offence is checked by a judicial police officer: if you crossed the line to let an emergency vehicle through, the photos show it and no fine is sent.
Sources ANTAI: red-light cameras French Highway Code, Article R412-30 Road safety agency: camera myths (French)
Latest generation
Turret cameras: what do they actually check?
France’s first turret camera appeared in 2019 in Mimizan, in the Landes. The road safety agency classes turrets as fixed speed cameras: they can check from the front or the rear, in one or both directions. Motorcycles are therefore covered just like cars.
The manufacturer describes its MESTA Fusion model as able to check speed and red lights at the same time. A given turret may enforce one, the other or both, depending on its configuration. Your notice always states the offence recorded, speeding or a red light, and each follows its own penalty scale.
Sources Road safety agency: turrets and fixed cameras (French) IDEMIA: MESTA described by the manufacturer
In town
Urban cameras: what does this small city camera check?
The urban camera is a compact unit designed for street furniture and approved for speeding and red-light offences. The first went live in January 2024 in Belfort, and the road safety agency plans several hundred more in the coming years. Sites are chosen locally by the state and local authorities, based on accident records and the presence of vulnerable road users.
In town, small excesses cost more: where the limit is 50 km/h or less, speeding by under 20 km/h costs €135 instead of €68. In a 30 km/h zone, caught at 41 km/h, you are recorded at 36 km/h: 6 km/h over, €135 and 1 point.
Sources Road safety agency: urban cameras (French) Service Public: speeding penalties (French)
Vehicle-mounted
Mobile cameras and camera cars: what is the difference?
A mobile camera is used by the police or gendarmerie. It operates from a vehicle parked at the roadside, or is set up on the ground. It is not signposted, and its locations are chosen by the prefect together with law enforcement.
A camera car is an unmarked car that measures speed while driving in traffic, using an invisible infrared flash. It is driven by law enforcement or, in several regions, by private contractors: the road safety agency counts 125, of which 75 are run by contractors. Its technical margin is doubled to 10 km/h below 100 km/h and 10% above. The speeding scale is unchanged.
Sources ANTAI: new-generation mobile cameras Road safety agency: camera cars (French)
Roadworks
Roadworks cameras: how does an autonomous camera work?
An autonomous camera moves from one roadworks site to another but stays put while it operates. It runs on a battery lasting a week, and a sign reading “Contrôle radar sur toute la longueur du chantier” (speed check over the whole roadworks) announces it.
It is also used in temporary danger zones, such as a concert or a sporting event, or on a route that needs protecting. The road safety agency counts 420 deployed, plus 229 in stock. The temporary roadworks limit is the one that counts, with the usual speeding scale.
Sources ANTAI: autonomous cameras Road safety agency: relocatable cameras (French) Service Public: speeding scale (French)
Railway lines
Level-crossing cameras: what do they penalise?
They work like red-light cameras: one photo as the vehicle crosses the line, after a safety delay, while the red light is flashing, then a second if it carries on, including in the adjacent lane, that is, going around the barriers. France’s first was installed in 2012 in Jonches, in the Yonne.
A flashing red light requires a full stop, just like a steady one: a €135 fixed fine, 4 points and up to 3 years’ suspension. On a motorcycle, threading between half-barriers counts. Never enter the tracks unless you can clear the far side.
Sources ANTAI: level-crossing cameras French Highway Code: steady or flashing red lights
Invisible flash
Can you get a ticket without seeing a flash?
Yes. Camera cars use an infrared flash that the people photographed cannot see. And when a camera photographs from the rear, any flash goes off behind you. Not seeing a flash does not prove there was no check.
Conversely, a flash does not guarantee a notice: every offence is checked by a judicial police officer, who confirms or rejects it before the notice is posted. To see exactly what was photographed, you can request the photo.
Explore this topic Getting the camera photo and contesting a notice
Sources ANTAI: infrared flash of mobile cameras Road safety agency: how notices are processed (French)
Phones, seatbelts
Do French cameras catch phone use or seatbelts?
No, according to the road safety agency. Its April 2025 brochure lists this as a myth: cameras are approved only for speed, red lights and level crossings, not for phone use, seatbelts or following distances.
Manufacturers go further on paper. IDEMIA describes its MESTA compact and mobile models as able to detect phone use and seatbelt wearing. That is a capability claimed by the manufacturer, not evidence that every function is active on French roads.
For a camera to issue a ticket, the device must be approved and the offence must appear on the list set by decree. That is the framework of Article L130-9, under which these findings stand unless proven otherwise.
Sources Road safety agency: camera myths (French) IDEMIA: manufacturer’s article French Highway Code, Article L130-9
Penalty scale
Speeding in France: how much is the fine, and how many points?
The retained excess is the retained speed, after the technical margin, minus the limit. Two examples with a fixed camera: caught at 97 km/h on an 80 km/h road, you are recorded at 92 km/h, so 12 km/h over, €68 and 1 point. Caught at 140 km/h on a 130 km/h motorway, the 5% margin records you at 133 km/h: 3 km/h over, €68 and no points.
The amounts below are standard fixed fines, before any reduction or increase.
Sources Service Public: scale and additional penalties (French) Decree of 22 December 2025 on serious speeding (French)
| Retained excess | Fixed fine | Points deducted | Possible additional penalties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 km/h | €68; €135 if the limit is 50 km/h or less | 0 | None |
| 5 to 19 km/h | €68; €135 if the limit is 50 km/h or less | 1 | None |
| 20 to 29 km/h | €135 | 2 | None |
| 30 to 39 km/h | €135 | 3 | Suspension of up to 3 years, road safety course |
| 40 to 49 km/h | €135 | 4 | Suspension of up to 3 years, road safety course |
50 km/h or more over the limit: since 29 December 2025, this is a délit (criminal offence) even the first time. You face up to 3 months in prison and a €3,750 fine, 6 points deducted, up to 3 years’ suspension and, depending on the case, licence cancellation or confiscation of the bike.
After a flash
Caught by a camera in France: what happens next?
The photo is sent, encrypted, to the national processing centre in Rennes. The plate is read there, the registered keeper identified, and a judicial police officer checks the offence before the notice is posted.
Once it arrives, you have 45 days to pay, name the rider or contest. Our guide covers the procedure, the camera photo and the deposit.
Fixed camera locations are public: the road safety agency has published an official map since 2018. Our map of speed cameras and enforcement areas in France shows where a camera stands and its type. MotoLert, coming soon to iPhone, will also show your real-time speed and reported enforcement areas, even without a route.
Explore this topic Map of speed cameras and enforcement areas in France How to contest a French speed camera fine
Sources Road safety agency: how notices are processed (French) ANTAI: naming the driver or contesting (French) Official camera map (French)
References
The information cited was checked on 21 October 2026. Rules and services may change after this date.
- ANTAI: speed cameras in FranceCamera types, technical margins, infrared flash, total on 1 January 2025.
- French road safety agency: guide to automated camerasApril 2025 brochure: camera families and numbers, front or rear checks, approvals, processing of notices. In French.
- French road safety agency: camera mapOfficial interactive camera map. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article R317-8Single rear plate for motorcycles. In French.
- French Highway Code, Article R412-30Stopping at steady or flashing red lights, 4 points and suspension. In French.
- Service Public: speedingSpeeding scale, additional penalties and the délit. In French.
- Decree No. 2025-1269 of 22 December 2025Speeding by 50 km/h or more became a délit on 29 December 2025. In French.
- Service Public: fixed finesFine amounts by class. In French.
- French Highway Code: Article L130-9Evidential value of findings from approved devices. In French.
- IDEMIA: enforcement technologyManufacturer’s article, 24 March 2025. Claimed capabilities, not deployment in France.
- ANTAI: naming the driver or contestingWhat to do once a notice arrives. In French.
