In France an unpaid meter is not a fine. Since 1 January 2018 it has been a forfait post-stationnement (FPS), a charge each town sets for itself, and it ranges from €17 in central Marseille to €75 in central Paris. Pay the meter and you never meet it.
The second thing a foreign driver needs is a Crit'Air sticker, ordered by post before you leave. The third is to read the kerb paint: a yellow line along the kerb is a ban, not a time limit.
Eight French cities compared
| City | Kerb, central zone | FPS if unpaid | Low-emission zone (ZFE) for cars | Cheapest park and ride |
|---|
| Paris | Up to €6/h, zone 1 | €75 (zone 1), €50 (zone 2) | Crit'Air 3–5 banned Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00; no fines in 2026 | None inside Paris; see page |
| Lyon | €2 first hour, then €4/h | €55 (standard car) | Crit'Air 3–5 banned 24/7, fined now | Free with a same-day TCL return trip |
| Marseille | €1.50 first hour | €17 | Crit'Air 4–5 banned 24/7 | Free with an RTM pass |
| Nice | €1.20/h; 2 h free with code 861 | €25 | Cars not restricted | Free with a €3.40 return ticket |
| Strasbourg | €3.50 first hour | €35 | Crit'Air 4–5 banned; 3 from 2027 | €4.20 a day, tram for up to 7 included |
| Avignon | See page | €35 | No permanent zone | Free, with a free shuttle |
| Annecy | €3/h, red zone | €50 (red), €35 (green, orange) | Unclassified only; sticker required | Free; bus €2 extra |
| Lille | €2 first hour, yellow zone | €35 | Unclassified only, whole métropole | Free with a same-day metro ticket |
Prices are from each city page, where the sources sit. Seven of the eight are free on the kerb on Sundays and public holidays; Annecy's own sources disagree, so read its meter.
Pay the meter, because the FPS is a charge, not a fine
The 2018 reform turned an unpaid meter from an offence into a debt. The interior ministry's local-government site says the FPS amount "varies from one commune to another", where the old penalty was a flat €17. It also says the FPS is due within three months. Leave it unpaid and the surcharge is 20% of what you owe, never less than €50.
The notice usually comes by post. Paris says no paper goes on the windscreen at all, and warns about fake ones. The national agency ANTAI sends the payment notice to the address on the registration document. In Paris you pay at stationnement.gouv.fr/fps, with 30% off inside nine days, so €75 becomes €52.50.
Two hours in Paris zone 1 cost up to €12. Skip it and the charge counts six hours: €75.
What about a foreign plate? In September 2026 the government told parliament that since 2018 it can no longer pursue FPS debts from foreign-registered cars. Only a 2022 deal with Switzerland reopens the door. None of that helps you in a hire car. The notice goes to whoever holds the registration, the driver cannot be named instead, and the rental company passes it on with its own fee. I pay the meter every time.
Apps vary by city. Our city pages name PayByPhone in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Avignon and Annecy, EasyPark in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and Avignon, Indigo Neo in Paris and Strasbourg, and Flowbird in Marseille. In Nice the free two hours only exist if you enter code 861 at the meter or in PayByPhone.
Carry a European disc for the zone bleue
A blue zone is free parking with a time limit, and the clock is a cardboard disc behind the windscreen. France moved to the European disc by decree in 2007. The old two-window disc has been invalid since 1 January 2012. Set your arrival time; the sign sets the limit.
Blue zones are a mayor's decision, street by street. Strasbourg has about 1,000 spaces, free 09:00–19:00 except Sundays and holidays, and the fine is €35. The per-country rules are in our parking disc guide. I keep one in the glovebox for France and Belgium.
Read yellow paint as "no", and park facing the traffic flow
Paris's own road-marking guide gives the national rule: a dashed yellow line along the kerb bans parking, and a solid one bans stopping as well. It cites articles 113-1 and 118-2 of the interministerial road-signing instruction. A town can go further. Fosses, north of Paris, bans stopping and parking along any yellow band, dashed or solid, by its 2025 order.
On a two-way street in town you park on the right. Article R417-1 of the Code de la route sets the rule, and parking against the flow is a second-class offence: €35.
Then there are the two grades of obstruction, set by articles R417-10 and R417-11:
- Gênant (obstructive), €35. Double parking, across a driveway, at an EV charging point, in a delivery bay.
- Très gênant (very obstructive), €135. On the pavement, a pedestrian crossing, a cycle lane, a bus or taxi lane, a disabled bay, in front of a fire hydrant.
Either can end with a tow, and neither has a reduced rate.
Order the Crit'Air sticker a month ahead
Every French low-emission zone that restricts cars wants the sticker on the windscreen, foreign plates included. It comes only from certificat-air.gouv.fr, only by post, to the address on the registration document. Service-Public gives €3.85 posted in France, which is the €3.11 sticker plus postage. A March 2026 consumer article puts delivery abroad at €5.11, so €2 postage. Older pages say €4.91, so check the order screen.
Which zones bite now? Lyon bans Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 around the clock, the ring road included, and police are fining. Marseille and Strasbourg ban 4 and 5. Lille and Annecy ban only unclassified cars, and Annecy still wants the sticker on every vehicle. Nice took cars out of its zone in 2025. Avignon has none.
Paris is the odd one. The zone covers the 77 communes inside the A86 ring, with the A86 itself outside it. It applies to cars Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 20:00, except public holidays. The Métropole extended its teaching period through 2026, so no class fines before 1 January 2027 at the earliest. Its own leaflet says a missing sticker is still punishable. The full list is on our France zone page.
If the car's gone, check the pound search before the police
A tow in France goes to a fourrière (car pound), and the state caps what most towns may charge. A new order took effect on 1 October 2026. For a car the national maximum is now €135 to tow, €7.15 a day to store, and €15.20 if the truck came but the car hadn't been hooked up.
Big cities run their own scale. Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse charge the same €135 tow but €10 a day. Paris is unchanged at €150 plus €29 a day. Add the FPS or fine that caused the tow.
The interior ministry's Ma Sécurité site searches more than 1,100 pounds by number plate. Paris has its own at oemv-fourrieres.paris.fr. Bring originals: passport, licence, registration document, insurance. More in our towed abroad guide.
Park outside the city and ride in, or come on a Sunday
French cities put their best deal at the edge. Lyon, Nice and Lille make the park and ride free if you ride transit the same day. Avignon's two big sites are free with a free shuttle. Strasbourg charges €4.20 a day and the tram ticket covers up to seven people. That's cheaper than two hours on the Strasbourg kerb.
Time is the other lever. Seven of the eight stop charging on the kerb on Sundays and public holidays, and most stop at 19:00 or 20:00. August is not free in Paris or Lille any more; both charge as usual. The Sunday parking guide has the rest of Europe.
On motorway rest areas overnight I found no official national rule, so I'm not printing one.
For the driving side (tolls, speed limits, what to carry), see Driving in France on our sister site DriveTheContinent.
What I actually do
I order the Crit'Air sticker when I book the ferry. I keep a European disc in the car. I pay the meter for the full stay, because the FPS is a six-hour bill in Paris and a hire company's invoice everywhere else. In Lyon, Nice or Strasbourg I leave the car at the park and ride.
Pay the meter in France, and the rest is detail. Every figure here was checked against official French sources or our city pages on 13 October 2026.