The French government reportedly intends to return to visible camera ‘flashes’, deemed more 'educational'.
It comes amid plans to greatly increase the number of speed cameras in France, especially in urban areas, where some 5,000 new 'local authority' cameras are expected to be installed from from 2026 to 2035.
Educational flashes
Visible flashes are coming back, report French motoring media L'Argus and Auto Plus, following two recent trade events in Paris: Salon des maires (for local councils) and Milipol (for the security industry).
Early speed camera models used to have a noticeable flash, but those deployed over the last ten years or so have an undetectable infrared flash to take the photo of the speeding driver discreetly. This means many drivers are not aware that they have been caught until they receive a fine in the post.
It is said that this was partly so as to foster a feeling of uncertainty among drivers, who might feel they could, at any time, be caught by a camera without them even realising it and that they would thus take more care.
However, Auto Plus reports that the Département du contrôle automatisé (DCA), a section of the Interior Ministry in charge of planning the deployment of cameras, is switching its thinking on this.
It says it is planned that new cameras set to be deployed in urban areas from next year - up to 5,000 over ten years according to an invitation to tender put out to camera suppliers - will include a flashing mechanism "sufficiently visible and significant so as to inform [the driver] that an offence has been picked up".
What is more, the DCA is moving away from the 'stealth-style' cameras in general, so as to be "bring back more eduation and prevention", Auto Plus reports.
"According to our sources, this is being done by asking radar makers to develop a system of 'notification of an offense' which can be added to their camera boxes - including those already in use," it said.
"The addition should concern, from 2026, the 1,552 radars tourelles ['turret' cameras, deployed since 2019, which can pick up offences in both directions], all the latest-generation radars discriminants [designed to identify differend kinds of vehicle and the lanes they are using], about 350 urban radars installed by the central state, and in future the thousands of 'local authority radars' to be put in place by the mayors."
Jean-Christian Meslet, director of the Automobile Club du Midi, told TF1: "This will enable people to immediately realise they have committed an offence, and it will indeed have an educational value, because for the penalty to be accepted linked to rule breaking there must also be prior information and social acceptance."
It is expected that the 'educational' flashes will be set off with a slight time delay compared to the infrared flash which will actually log the driver's speed, so as not to interfere with this.
It is not known if, in time, this policy might also apply to speed camera cars. These cars, which are unmarked and drive along a predetermined route, are now used in all regions except Île-de-France and Corsica.
They were first rolled out in Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in spring 2025.
Urban cameras
New camera models were shown off at the trade shows, however, the exact supplier and model for new urban cameras is still unclear as a tender process is still ongoing, with the choice now being expected to be made in January.
This relates to the 'local authority cameras' which mairies will be able to have installed in their towns, under a measure that came out of 2022's '3DS' law on decentralisation.
Under this plan they will purchase a package from the selected provider, including installation and maintenance of cameras.
The body overseeing the tender process, UGAP is widely reported in French media to have told bidders the market represents at least 3,000, and up to 5,000, cameras over 10 years, with the first expected to be installed in 2026 (The Connexion was not able today to source the tender document itself).
The cameras will be used to check on speeding and/or going through red lights, and some models showed off at the trade fairs allow both to be checked at the same time.
Several models are also designed to be able to be used to pick up further offences moving forward, assuming official accreditation is obtained for their use for these.
This could include, for example, driving in a bus or cycle lane, not respecting 'stop' signs/marking, two-wheeler riders not wearing helmets, driving in a bus or cycle lane and going the wrong way down a one-way street.
Plans to replace old cameras
The latest data on camera deployment, attached as an annexe to the 2026 budget, says there will be some 4,200 automatic speed cameras 'operational and visible' in France by the end of 2026.
It also states that it is planned that most older cameras, 10-15 years-old, will be replaced by new models this year.
14.2 million fines resulted from fixed speed cameras catching offenders in 2024, down from 16.8 million in 2023. The vast majority of these last year (13.9 million) were for speeding, although more than 270,000 were a result of drivers running red lights.
Four-fifths of cameras were located on national or departmental roads, with the remainder on motorways (14%) or municipal roads (6%).
The same year, fixed speed cameras generated €889 million in income, down from €965 million in 2023 (excluding fines collected from mobile speed cameras). The drop was thought to be largely due to a 7% drop in speed camera availability, mainly due to vandalism and damage.
Damaging a speed camera risks fines of up to €75,000 and five years in prison, increasing to €100,000 and seven years if the person caught is wearing a mask or is part of a wider, organised group.
If you believe that a speed camera is not working correctly and has wrongly caught you, you can contest the fine via a set process, without paying it first.
