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|map = <map lat='47' lng='1.5' zoom='5' view='0' height='320' country='France'/>|language = French(regional languages: Alsatian, Occitan, Breton, Corsican, Basque, Catalan, ...)

|pop = 6468,102,1400 million|currency = Euro ( € )|hitch = {{good}} (<rating country='fr'good'')/>|BW = FR

European '''France''' is part of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. The highways cost moneyDrivers have to pay toll on motorways (except in [[Bretagne|Brittany]] and at some other places), and you can get a ride quite easily at some ''[[Péage|barrières de péage]]'' (toll pointsstations) . When hitchhiking on local roads, you can get a ride easilymight face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France (as in many foreign countries) is the language - you might want to learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.

== General Info ==There are no prohibitions about hitching Like everywhere in FranceEurope, apart from walking on the restricted access roadsmotorways is illegal and thus it's just legal to hitchhike on service areas and at the beginning of on-ramps before the highway sign. Hitchhiking at the péage next to the barrier is forbidden, ibut police and highway staff mostly turn a blind eye if you stand there.e. expressways and motorwaysMoreover some experience shows that French people will more often stop in a place where it is not normally allowed than in other countries. (See below)

Choosing the good spot is the key of getting the best rides. For instanceOn Sundays, in [[Montpellier]] there only trucks with frozen goods are two spots very close allowed to each otherdrive. The first one is easy Keep in mind though that trucks are not allowed to reach, nevertheless, the second one isn't much go more difficult, but the chances of being picked up are much better.<map lat='46' lng='2' zoom='5' view='0' float='right' height='300' country='France'than 90 km/>Most of h and the French don't speak English, so have driver must stop for a map to show them where you want to go. If you know any French, use it! French people like it if you try your best. Say ''Bonjour Monsieur45 min break every 4 1/Madame''2 hours, to show that you are friendly. If you're heading to [[Germany]], you maybe need to know that [[Germany]] is ''Allemagne'' (all-ay-man'ye) in Frenchwhich can make the trip much longer.

The ''"Michelin 726 National"'' map of France is a good choice for a hitchhiker in this country. It shows all the major ''barrières de péage'' and [[rest area|service stations]]. You can get a free map in péage offices. == Asking people ==If you want to ask for rides, you can say sentences like: "''Excusez-moi, je vais à [name of the city] en stop. Allez-vous dans cette direction ?''" and if you get a positive answer, just ask "''Pourrais-je venir avec vous ?''". It may be also good not to tell a city but the direction you want to go: "''Excusez-moi, je fais du stop vers le sud. Allez-vous dans cette direction ?''" == Autoroutes, péages and barrières de péage ==__TOC__'''Péage''' ([http://cs1.imtranslator.net/SL/Free_Projects/169679760/cs_10132017_15_58_47_1.wav?param1=001024 audio]) is a French word for ''toll''. It is also commonly used as referring to [[toll station]]s. In France, most of the motorways are toll roads (''autoroute'') which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) - these are ''barrières de péage'' and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride and make it really easy to hitchhike during the night. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations of the first type can be helpful difficult to hitch from due to put heavy traffic. To reach the ''barrière de péage''S, you may need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long.VIt is illegal to walk on a side lane of the motorway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (''voie express'' or ''voie rapide'') in France); if police sees you, you may be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for 11 to 40€.PPéage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there.You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each ''barrière de péage''. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you' after re not endangering yourself or others.  Having a sign with your destination (or the next city) is recommended and will distinguish you as a serious hitchhiker, and not a vagrant. You will definitely need it if the road splits. The fastest way to travel on a péage is from one ''barrière de péage'' to another.  Hitchhiking options are: * You can thumb immediately after the ''barrière de péage''* If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you use 're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is often tolerated). Just say "''Bonjour, je vais à [name of the city]''".* You can wait before the ''barrière de péage'', just where the drivers choose their lane - there is often enough of space for cars to pull over to stop for you.  Some ''barrière de péage'' are really good, some are not. If you've been waiting for a while using a destination sign, drop it and try thumbing. While on a toll road, you can always try hitchhiking from one [[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol station]] to another, either asking drivers while they refill, or thumbing at the exit of the service area. The staff usually doesn't mind hitchhikers. == Personal Experiences ==''In my experience it's pretty much impossible to go hungry in France. While hitching I almost ALWAYS get 10 or 5 euros thrown my way, and once even 60 euro! The key is to imply you have no money (helps the guilt if you actually don't have any like I did). Ask where you can use the internet or a phone, but WITHOUT PAYING, and 90% of the time they'll tell you "I'll drop you off at the station/road/town with 10 euros, alright?" It's shorthand not really possible without having a good standard of communication though, so either hope they know English or learn some French! I also wouldn't recommend doing "it" if you have no money or already had access to the internet or a phone, solely because of guilt. Even though I was genuine in my requests I didn't feel happy taking their money, but food is food!'' - Aaronishappy  ''France is great because it has roundabouts, which makes for slow traffic on the smaller roads. Of course, the big highways are off-limits in many cases, but that's alright. Beautiful countryside, good people. For me I enjoyed eating lots of cheese and lots of baguettes, as cliche as that may sound.''s- [[User:Chael777|Chael]]  'il vous plaît'Don' t be afraid to approach people at service stations just because your French is weak (sihor, like me, non-vooexistent). After a quick 'bonjour', or 'vous allez ou?', people were happy to help. Many people didn't speak English, with some I got by in Spanish, and with 3 or 4 we had no language in common at all. Nevertheless, people were still kind and willing to help.'' -play[[User:Justunein|Justunein]]  ''My Hitch in France went marvellously! Check this, I was walking along the street in Nimes, minding my own business, and a woman pulled up in a car and asked me if I wanted to hitch to Marseille! She asked me!! When we got there, she showed me around and I slept on her sofa (whenever I tell French men about this they invariably respond 'Did you ''fork'' her?') = please . The next day, I got 5 hitches from Marseille to Limans, and for 3 of them all I had to do was hold up a cardboard sign and the first car that came picked me up. I was going to write that it's like taking the bus, ''but you have to wait for busses!'' As a bonus, the people who I hitched with were really nice, so much so that one of them lied and said that my French wasn't so bad! Oh yeah, and the bit about French bakeries is incomplete. They have pastries round the back too!!''  ''I can also said France is very good country for hitchhiking, people are very friendly. Even that they do not speak a lot of English, they will try to help you. One driver also take me in one restaurant near high way even that I did not want that he spend money to by me something to eat. It was nice to cross from Spain to Germany in two days with hitchhiking.''  ''I started my first hitchhike tour in France and found out that most Frenchpeople are very kind and in most cases they are happy to take you with them.But I think it's really helpful to speak even a little bit French so you can say want you want and where you want to go because most of French people don't like to speak english or maybee they are not able to. Espacally in the south of france it's also possible to travel short distances by train for free, because most of them are not controlled. In case of controlling you can say that you're out of money and in most cases they will not send you a bill because it is to complicated for them to find you in your home country. And even if you are in bad luck and they will find you the price is not even higher than the ticket for the train.'' Hitchhikernick - hitched several times through France over the years with the latest being January 2024 from Chamonix to Andorra whilst the farmers protests were happening. The protests slowed things down a bit, but still managed to get to Andorra in just over 2 days. Very rarely given any money or bought food. Average waiting time 1.5hrs. Mixture of highways and national roads. == Main cities ==- [[Paris]]- [[Marseille]]- [[Lyon]]- [[Lille]]- [[Toulouse]]- [[Bordeaux]]- [[Nice]]- [[Nantes]]- [[Strasbourg]]- [[Rennes]]- [[Grenoble]]  == Links ==

It is forbidden to stay * [http://www.asf.fr/shared/pdf/CarteReseau.pdf Le Réseau ASF], a PDF file that shows all ''barrières de péage'' on the motorway itselfmajor routes in Southern France.* [http://www.vinci-autoroutes.com/system/files/pdf/2012/12/carte_reseau_vinci_autoroutes.pdf Service Stations Network], as well as a pdf file that shows all service station on some parts of national roads ("Voie express"), so you have to stick to entrances/gas stationsmajor routes in southern France.

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