French driver fined €135 and has points removed from licence for using phone in parking lot

A driver in northern France has been fined €135 and had three points removed from his licence after he was penalised for using his mobile phone in a supermarket parking lot.

The move has been criticised for its overly-strict interpretation of France’s driving safety rules (Code de la route) but also serves as a reminder of the regulations in place.

Legal experts have used the event to confirm driving rules in parking lots, but also warned that some fines received for such infractions may be incorrect and can be contested.

It comes after departments in south-west France recently implemented stricter penalties for drivers caught using their mobile phone when behind the wheel.

Road safety rules also apply in parking lots

The young driver was fined for using his mobile while driving through the parking lot of a supermarket in the Val d’Oise department north of Paris in 2025. 

Reports do not state whether the man was calling or using his phone in another way, but penalties for both are the same. 

Despite a belief held by many that certain driving rules do not apply in parking lots, this is not the case.

“The argument that a parking lot is a private area exempt from the rules is false,” said lawyer Nicolas Ferté to media outlet Journal du Net.

“Parking lots present just as many risks and dangerous situations as public roads: heavy traffic, numerous vehicle movements, and sometimes cramped spaces.” 

A 1981 ruling from the Cour de cassation (France's highest judicial court) gives a definitive legal view on the matter, stating that rules from the Code “apply to all roads open to public traffic, and in particular to parking lots located in shopping centers or near supermarkets.”

This includes not only public parking areas but also ’private’ parking lots that have direct access to the public road network.

Many regulations from the Code apply, meaning alongside penalties for using a mobile phone drivers face sanctions if not wearing a seatbelt or for obstructing traffic in a parking lot etc.

Check any fines you receive 

Fines can be issued by police officers, as well as any officers (agents) on site such as the agent de surveillance de la voie publique (ASVP) who enforce regulations relating to stopping and parking.

However, Mr Ferté recommends carefully checking any fines received for infractions in parking lots if received via the post and not directly from an officer.

He pointed to a 2023 case, again from the Val d’Oise, which saw another driver given four concurrent tickets for his actions in a parking lot: for not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone while driving, dangerous parking, and crossing a solid line.

The tickets arrived by post, meaning the driver was unable to immediately defend himself. 

“All the violations were recorded in the same place, at the same time, in front of a supermarket, which suggested a parked vehicle, not one in motion,” Mr Ferté said.

Further inspection of the location showed that the parking lot in question did not have any solid lines, meaning at least one of the tickets was false.

“No additional information was included in the tickets, and no specific context was provided. In the absence of a detailed explanation, all the proceedings were dismissed,” Mr Ferté said.

If you receive a driving fine through the post, you are allowed to contest it either with or without legal assistance, by filing a report with ANTAI. 

These fines are contested the same way postal speeding fines are – read our article here for more information.

Remember that you should not pay the fine in advance as recent rule changes mean this is seen as an admission of guilt on the driver’s part, although you may need to pay a deposit to contest a fine.