France has begun introducing free-flow (péage flux libre) tollbooths, which allow for motorists to continue driving through the highway péages and pay the toll fee later. 

One such tollbooth had already been installed in 2022 along the A79 motorway, but in June a new free-flow system began to be implemented along the popular Paris-Normandy axis, which is operated by the Sanef organisation.

So far, it has been added to the A14 motorway which goes through the Yvelines département, and later on, in December 2024, it will be implemented on the A13 motorway, which is 210km in length.

The free-flow tollbooths scan licence plates, and afterwards motorists have up to 72 hours after passing through the tollbooth to pay.

But some motorists have complained that the signage is not clear enough, leading to people forgetting to pay and risking a fine.

Florent, who lives in the Paris region, told La Dépêche, “I paid, but this system is unbearable”. He explained: “I did not see it at all on the way there, and I only noticed it on the way back”. 

“It’s not just a yellow sign on the side of the road that indicates the terms and conditions,” one Rouen resident, Xavier, who received a letter informing him he had failed to pay, told Le Parisien.

“It’s another example of a technocratic measure cloaked in ecology and simplicity,” he said.

The system works by allowing drivers to keep going and pay later – similar to the Dart Crossing in the UK.

You can pay by entering your licence plate number online to the Sanef website or going in person to a participating tabac (you can find the list here). 

People should also be able to use a ‘télépéage’ toll badge or create an account on the Sanef website in advance of their journey so that they pay automatically.

For those who forget to pay, fines have begun to be issued.

If you do not pay in the 72 hours afterwards, then fine of €90 can be added to the toll price. This can be reduced to €10 if payment is made within 15 days, but if you do not pay within two months, then the fine will be increased to €375.

Foreigners will follow the same rule of entering their licence plate in to pay, a representative from Sanef told The Local in a previous interview.

Meanwhile, rental cars will also follow the same process.

READ MORE: How will France’s new free-flow autoroute tollbooths work for foreign vehicles?