Number Plates and the French police

[Dblue]

Recently been running my car without it's front plate being in place after it fell off. Now in the UK I understand the consequences of that but am i likely to get pulled driving the car like that in France. It's a country I'm very familiar with but I've no idea how they would treat that if they noticed.

As far as i know, it's illegal in France to even have plates that are not bolted on to the car. Not sure how rigorously that would be enforced as no Ferraris have front plates that are fixed on with screws anyway and I've never seen any evidence of Les Gendarmes stopping cars on that basis alone.
Any one of you french residents cast any light on this?

[FranzKlampon]

I'm sure the letter of the law and real world experiences are quite different. If you're talking about the Scud in your profile, then a couple of blips on the throttle will entertain any inquisitive police.

[DS240]

Some filling stations won't activate the pump with no plate on the front.

[Gixer]

Speaking as someone that used to run a car with no front plate and drives through France often. Get a front plate. You will be stopped.

The last time I got stopped was coming back from Germany a few years back. They were waiting for me at the tolls. They wouldn't let me continue until the car had a properly attatched front plate

[struttob]

Why not just get the thing replaced and be legal in both countries, simple ??

[E36GUY]

struttob said:

Why not just get the thing replaced and be legal in both countries, simple ??

quite

[V8mate]

DS240 said:

Some filling stations won't activate the pump with no plate on the front.

Ditto, the ANPR at Dover check-in desks won't be too happy about it either. Might not get out of the country.

Seems a bizarre question for the sake of a tenner.

[slarnge]

Buy a plate,then you wont have to worry !

[WhiteBaron]

V8mate said:

DS240 said:

Some filling stations won't activate the pump with no plate on the front.

Ditto, the ANPR at Dover check-in desks won't be too happy about it either. Might not get out of the country.

Seems a bizarre question for the sake of a tenner.

Although my motorbike doesn't have a front plate...........................

[Logbert]

Yeah.. come to think of it my tractor has not got a front plate either..... Mmmmmm ... Long way to le mans on a tractor.

[leyorkie]

Plates in France have to be fixed with pop rivets often covered with a plastic cap.
Fitted 2 sets recently.

[Gingerbread Man]

En route to Le Mans last year, my front number Plate fell off. It was present at the ferry crossing.

I went to Le Mans and back to England without a plate. Come an MOT, I had to get a plate ordered.

[thanetspeedshop]

The front plate fell off our rusty old Lancia in LM 1987 so we stuck it on the dashboard. Seem to recall getting bked by a gendarme and having to tape it back onto the bumper.

Hope this helps...

[dredgey]

Could you get a magnetic one (or some magnetic backing) that you can attach to the bonnet so you can apply and remove when you want?

[aw51 121565]

leyorkie said:

Plates in France have to be fixed with pop rivets often covered with a plastic cap.
Fitted 2 sets recently.

That's for French-registered cars in France - foreign vehicles must meet their home country's Regs, ie a UK-registered car's Number Plates must be affixed by whatever methods are permitted in the UK (with screws or stuck on, not necessarily rivetted on but fixed securely). Les Gendarmes who insist that a Number Plate MUST be rivetted on are wrong, but they still try it on occasionally .

[V8mate]

I don't think that magnetic fixings qualify as 'properly fixed' for a UK MOT, as suggested above ^^.

Surely this is all academic though? The cheapest and easiest solution is simply to get a new plate fitted.

[dredgey]

V8mate said:

I don't think that magnetic fixings qualify as 'properly fixed' for a UK MOT, as suggested above ^^.

Surely this is all academic though? The cheapest and easiest solution is simply to get a new plate fitted.

Just re-read the op, for some reason I had it my head the original poster didn't really want a front number plate for asthetics or such like...

[Bodmin]

aw51 121565 said:

That's for French-registered cars in France - foreign vehicles must meet their home country's Regs, ie a UK-registered car's Number Plates must be affixed by whatever methods are permitted in the UK (with screws or stuck on, not necessarily rivetted on but fixed securely). Les Gendarmes who insist that a Number Plate MUST be rivetted on are wrong, but they still try it on occasionally .

These VX220 drivers believed the same but still had to donate to the Gendarme patiserie fund

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

One suggestion I saw that somebody tried on their car was to glue the little screw caps onto the plate even though the plate was held on by pads(Sagaris-fibreglass front),worked a treat,even when checked at a toll both

Bodders

[GadgeS3C]

Logbert said:

Yeah.. come to think of it my tractor has not got a front plate either..... Mmmmmm ... Long way to le mans on a tractor.

Could enter the tractor racing though

[fatboy18]

Not saying it the right thing to do here, but I have a full size GB plate which I put up against the windscreen in the Viper. Touch wood, It seems to work ok, Ive even given the French Customs and border control guys a spin around the dock roads in the car Never had a complaint?

I think if your car has a pacific body mould area for a plate then you are daft if you dont fit one but some cars have no place for a front plate Even stick on type plates do not conform to DVLA rules. Just be nice to the officer that pulls you over. You know you are bending the rules so be prepared