From radar cars and refunds on bottles to sick-leave rules and free underseat luggage – here are some key developments affecting life in France now and over the coming months.
More radar cars
Unmarked speed radar cars are spreading to nine more French departments. These cars, which look like ordinary vehicles but are equipped with near-invisible infrared speed detection equipment, are already active in around 60 departments.
They were deployed in June in Ardèche, Cantal, Bouches-du-Rhône and Ariège. During July, they will be rolled out in Ain, Haute-Loire, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Pyrénées-Orientales and Tarn-et-Garonne.
Each department typically receives two or three cars that follow routes set in advance by the prefecture.
They can operate day and night, seven days a week, and record speeding violations in both directions. Some are driven by the police or gendarmes, but most are run under contract by private firms.
Tax fraud checks intensify
Tax officials are intensifying their investigations into this spring’s income declarations, using AI to help uncover cases of fraud and to cross-reference information between different state departments.
About one million investigations were conducted on declarations in 2024 (for 2023 income), compared to 850,000 in 2023. By 2027, the Finance Ministry hopes to increase the number of checks by 25%, compared to 2024.
As well as looking for irregularities in documents submitted or asking for additional information, AI is being used to scan social media to see if an individual’s lifestyle is in keeping with the tax declarations they have made.
La Poste payment demand
Small business owners might receive a letter from La Poste threatening legal action over outstanding payments – the result of a ‘technical error’ during the roll-out of a new debt-collection system. T
he letter, titled Dernière relance avant procédure judiciaire (final reminder before legal proceedings), says La Poste has tried to make contact on several occasions and demands payment of an outstanding invoice in 48 hours.
If you have received such a letter from La Poste despite paying all invoices on time, contact the debt-collection service at: recouvrement-relance.adr@laposte.fr.
Bottle deposit scheme
A deposit scheme for glass drink bottles has been launched in supermarkets across several regions to encourage returns by offering a refund.
The scheme covers major supermarkets in Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Brittany and Hauts-de-France. Carrefour, Intermarché, E.Leclerc, and Monoprix are taking part, as well as some smaller chains.
People who return bottles to automatic deposit machines near the store entrance will receive between 10 and 20 cents, depending on the size of the product, as store credit or added to their bank card.
Eligible items have a purple label saying Rapportez-moi pour réemploi or Récupérez le montant de votre consigne. Food in glass jars is expected to be included in due course.
Ticket fees for non-EU visitors
Several more major French attractions say they will charge non-EU visitors extra for entry to raise funds for upkeep and renovations amid budget cuts.
Versailles, the Opéra Garnier and Château de Chambord are among monuments and museums planning to start charging extra fees from next January.
EU visitors will continue to be charged the same as French residents, due to EU non-discrimination rules.
It follows the announcement by the Louvre in January that it will charge €30 instead of €22 to non-EU visitors. Long-stay visa and residency card holders will be exempt.
Air luggage rules clarified
EU-based airlines flying to or from an EU destination must offer free ‘underseat’ luggage to all passengers, European transport ministers have agreed.
This luggage must be no larger than 40x30x15cm, including any wheels or handles. The proposals await the approval of the EU Parliament.
At present, airlines differ on the size of free cabin luggage, with easyJet, for example, allowing up to 45x36x20cm and Ryanair up to 40x25x20cm. The proposals form part of wider changes planned for the rights of air passengers.
This includes reinforced rules on airlines’ responsibilities in the case of delays. If an airline does not provide suitable re-routing within three hours, passengers may arrange alternative transport and claim reimbursement of up to 400% of the original ticket cost.
Another rule makes it harder for airlines to deny compensation due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’.
Cash withdrawals in shops
Plans to increase accessibility of cash withdrawals are set to come into force in 2026, as more shops are given the option to host a private cash point for users.
They are being touted as a way to provide greater access to cash at a time when the number of physical bank branches and ATMs is decreasing, and it will help rural areas in particular.
It is expected to also increase the number of people entering shops that offer cash points, which might boost spending in them.
Access to weight-loss drugs
The rules around the prescription of two major weight-loss drugs are to be relaxed in France, making it easier for non-specialist doctors, including GPs, to prescribe Wegovy and Mounjaro.
The drugs can help people lose up to 15% of their body weight via a once-weekly stomach injection.
Currently, they can only be prescribed in France by a specialist in endocrinology-diabetology-nutrition, or a doctor with expertise in nutrition – meaning the waiting list for prescriptions can be up to one year.
Changes to sick-leave process
From July, it will be obligatory to send any paper requests for sick leave reimbursement via a specific new document, in an attempt to reduce fraud.
People will have to use original copies of secure Cerfa forms. All other paper requests will be denied, including photocopies and scans.
The new documents have anti-fraud measures, such as a holographic label and electronic magnetic signature, to prevent abuse.
As before, sections 1 and 2 must be sent to your local Cpam (caisse primaire d’assurance maladie) within 48 hours of receiving them from your GP or consulting doctor. The rule-change does not affect electronic sick leave requests.
These now make up the majority of requests as they are generally quicker to complete and provide faster reimbursement.
New easyJet UK flights
Low-cost airline easyJet is to launch a new UK base next year in Newcastle, including a service to Nice.
From March, flights will run three times a week in the summer.
Package holidays including flights between Newcastle and Nice can already be bought via easyJet’s website for 2026.
EasyJet is also launching four new routes between France and the UK this winter from French bases: Paris Charles de Gaulle to Aberdeen, Grenoble to Birmingham, Grenoble to London Southend, and Strasbourg to Manchester.
Flights from Toulouse to London Gatwick are also due to resume, from October.
Shortage of antidepressants
A shortage of certain antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs is set to continue for several months, says the Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament (ANSM).
More than a dozen pharmaceutical products are affected, ranging from antidepressants to drugs for bipolar and schizophrenic disorders.
While some have been in persistently short supply since June 2024, ANSM says the situation is slowly improving for quetiapine and teralithe, but sertraline and venlafaxine continue to face shortages.
These issues are likely to remain unless the pricing of these drugs is changed, or pharmaceutical companies start domestic production in France.
France-Italy tunnel reopens
The Franco-Italian Tende tunnel has reopened to traffic, more than 10 years after work began on its expansion.
The route, which links the Roya valley in France to the Italian region of Piedmont, was due to resume operations on June 27 following repeated setbacks and cost overruns.
Full reopening of the 3km tunnel is not yet possible: traffic is currently allowed during three daily time slots – from 06:00 to 10:00, 12:00 to 14:00, and 18:00 to 22:00. Full operation is forecast for 2027.
Warning over drowning risk
The high number of drownings in France last year has prompted new warnings about swimming risks.
A total of 1,244 noyades, where someone is struggling in water and requires rescue, occurred across metropolitan France and overseas territories between June 1 and September 30, 2024, says health monitoring body Santé publique France.
Of these, 350 resulted in death.
Although the overall number remained stable compared with 2023, a sharp increase was observed during the peak summer period from July 16 to August 15. Adults accounted for 56% of incidents and 90% of the deaths.
Children under six made up 29% of cases but only a small number of deaths. Approximately half of the fatal drownings occurred in rivers and lakes, while the remainder were mainly at sea.
Adolescence shown in schools
Extracts of the UK Netflix series Adolescence are to be shown in French secondary schools to highlight the dangers of online violence.
Five educational clips from the show will be used alongside other teaching materials to help raise awareness of the problems linked to young people’s “overexposure to screens and the normalisation of violence” on social media.
They will be shown to pupils of at least quatrième level, aged 13-14, roughly the same age as the series’ teenage protagonist.
Water restrictions in place after dry spring
Water usage is being limited in several areas. Officials are still hopeful of avoiding widespread droughts this year, but low rainfall in spring – particularly in the east of France – means warnings are already in place in several areas.
Along with the east and in the Pyrénées-Orientales, areas of Normandy, the north of France, and some central areas are beginning to face restrictions.
In comparison, much of the south-west and south-east – areas that usually face the warmest summer temperatures – are free from restrictions.
Local authorities are responsible for implementing warnings, as well as detailing any restrictions.
Generally, in areas with low-level ‘attention’ warnings in place, there are no restrictions for homeowners; farmers may face some.
TV channels move
French digital terrestrial TV channels have been reshuffled to make navigation more intuitive.
This includes grouping the four main rolling news channels together and moving
France 4 – previously number 14 – to channel 4.
Canalsat numbers are not affected.
La Chaîne parlementaire moves to channel 8.
Access order in Dordogne
The prefecture of the Dordogne has issued an order permitting agents to enter private land in and around 20 villages to survey plant life.
The decision applies to communes including Lalinde, Carlux, Trémolat, La Roque-Gageac, Vitrac, Pontours, Domme and Vézac and was issued by the prefecture in May. The order is effective until December 31, 2027.
Its purpose is to carry out inventories of local flora as part of broader environmental research in protected Natura 2000 areas.
Olive oil health risk
Shoppers have been warned about potential dangers of two olive oil brands in a study by 60 Millions de consommateurs, the magazine of state body the national consumers institute.
It compared 21 supermarket extra virgin olive oils, meant to have a high level of purity, for taste and contaminants.
None was perfect but it singled out two brands – Carapelli Bio and Terra Delyssa – as being worst, partly due to high levels of contamination from plasticisers, chemicals used to make plastics flexible.
Carapelli was also said to contain certain hydrocarbons deemed to pose potential cancer risks.
Smoking ban extended
Smoking is to be banned on all public beaches, in gardens, sports centres and grounds, bus shelters, and near schools from July 1.
The ban does not apply to e-cigarettes such as rechargeable vapes – disposable vapes are now banned in France – or on terraces such as beach cafes or bars.
In some local municipalities, smoking is already banned in these locations, particularly on beaches. This is the case, for example, in Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée), where authorities banned smoking on the beach during the tourist season (April-September) two years ago.
A future complete ban on under-18s smoking is being considered. It is already illegal to sell tobacco to minors.
