French Breathalyser Law

Since 1 July 2012, all motorised vehicles, except 2 or 3 wheeled vehicles with an engine capacity of less than 50cc, on French roads must be equipped with a Government-approved portable breath testing device. The driver of the vehicle is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law, whether or not he or she owns the vehicle or it is owned by a third party, such as a rental or company car company or is borrowed. The law also applies to foreign vehicles. The only other exceptions are the drivers of coaches which are required, by law, to be equipped with an interlock device.

Drivers are meant to use the devices to check that they are not exceeding the French legal alcohol limit for driving of 50mg%. The introduction of the devices is another step in the French government’s campaign against drink driving which is stated to be the single main cause of road deaths in the country. Announcing the move, the French Interior Ministry stated that in 2010, alcohol was responsible for 31% of fatal accidents, and if all drivers had complied with the legal limit for driving, 1,150 lives could have been saved since 2006.

The breathalysers, which cost around €2, are available in a range of retail outlets such as supermarkets. The fine for not carrying one of the devices is €11. Drivers are instructed to breathalyse themselves one hour after consuming the last alcoholic drink, and to store and use the breathalysers in a temperature of between 10%C and 40%C.

However, in some other countries the policy of requiring self-testing of alcohol levels is regarded as controversial because of the danger that either the breathalyser itself malfunctions or the driver fails to use it correctly with the result that he or she is given a false reading.