Tourists face fines on France’s A13 motorway due to removal of toll booths

Many are confused by the new free-flow system

Strasbourg,,France,-,Mar,20,,2024:,A,Renault,Twingo,Driving
Tourists are being caught out by free-flow toll roads
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France’s new barrier-free toll roads are catching out some foreign drivers, who are unaware they need to still pay a toll. 

The A13 motorway, between Paris and Normandy, and three other stretches of motorways in France, became free-flow (flux-libre) systems in March 2025. 

The aim was to improve traffic flow, removing the need for drivers to stop and pay at toll booths (péages). 

The system relies instead on cameras that detect vehicles and their number plates. 

Users of the roads still have to pay, either via a toll badge or by having an account with the motorway operator from which payments are taken. 

Read more: Map shows location of new toll barrier-free motorways in France (note: you still need to pay)

Drivers, including drivers of foreign-registered vehicles, can also pay online at automated machines near the motorway, or at local tabacs (for some motorway companies). 

However an increasing number of people are complaining that the information on payment is unclear, especially for foreign drivers. 

This is resulting in people being caught out and fined for not paying the tolls. 

A tourist interviewed by French broadcaster BFMTV said he had had to search online for how to pay the toll. The information he found, he said, was all in French; it would have been easier if information was also provided in English. 

“It is not clear for foreigners,” a Czech woman driving along the A13 told BFMTV. 

An American tourist, writing on the social media platform Reddit, said he was fined hundreds of euros for failing to pay for using the A14 toll road, which also runs between Paris and Normandy, while driving a rental car from the French capital to Mont-Saint-Michel. 

He had no idea the road was a toll road, and simply paid at physical toll booths on the roads that had them. 

Motorists who do not pay risk receiving a €90 fine, which can increase to €375 if not paid within 60 days. 

The motorway has large signs warning drivers they must pay, but these are mainly in French. 

Many motorists, as well as driving publications in France, have called for operators to add signage in English to help foreign drivers. 

Motorway operator Sanef encourages drivers to open an account which would allow them to either approve automatic payments whenever they drive on the free-flow motorway, or to receive an email informing them their car has been detected, and reminding them to pay the toll. 

If a driver thinks they have been wrongly fined, they are encouraged to contact the motorway operator’s customer service department.