Legislation France

Legislation France

In France, since May 2020 it is no longer mandatory to carry the alcohol breath test with NF X 20 702 quality mark. This does not mean that it is not recommended by the French government to carry such a test with you so that you have the opportunity to test yourself after consuming alcohol.

It had been the case for a long time that there was no enforcement by the Gendarmerie or Police National and therefore the obligation to have an NF certified test in the vehicle was a law that did not have much value. The French government has decided that there will be more intensive checks on alcohol in traffic and will not hesitate to issue high fines for this. A new French law requires that every alcohol seller must be able to offer their customers an alcohol test so that awareness among drivers is further increased.

The same rules apply in France as in the Netherlands, so experienced drivers have a maximum limit of 0.5 per mille. Novice drivers and professional drivers have a maximum limit of 0.2 per mille. Buses in France have been equipped with an alcohol lock since 2012.

The NF quality mark for alcohol testers has been tightened a number of times, with the result that there is now a product on the market that can provide a very reliable test result under various circumstances.

The most recently applicable NF

Some certification requirements are:

• 100% reliability for all tests performed with reference values ​​0.2 g/L or 0.5 g/L (per mille)
• Product operation should be checked after storage under extreme conditions from -20°C to 70°C and an air humidity of 95%
• De Operation of the product must be tested under different light intensities, both day and night and artificial light.

The product we represent, Le Ballon from Contralco, meets all these requirements and has recently extended its NF certificate until 2022. The link below shows you the most recent NF certificate

There are products on the market that claim to be “compliant with the decree of June 2015”. We would like to point out that the appendix to this decree requires that a test report drawn up by a laboratory accredited by COFRAC be submitted. We strongly recommend our customers to request this test report in order to guarantee the reliability of the products to consumers. Indeed, many products will not pass the test, but Le Ballon from Contralco obviously will.

Fine for driving under the influence in France

The fines for driving under the influence in France can be quite stiff.

From 0,5‰ to 0,8‰ or 0,25 to 0,40 mg/l: from € 135 and driving ban for up to 3 years (vehicle can be seized).

More than 0,8‰ or 0,4 mg/l: maximum €4.500, driving license detention for 72 hours (possibly extended to 6 months), driving disqualification of up to 3 years and/or a prison sentence of up to 2 year.

Driving under the influence of drugs: maximum €4.500 and disqualification from driving for up to 3 years and/or a prison sentence of up to 2 years.

The amounts mentioned are indications and may be higher or lower in practice.