France has thousands of speed cameras (known as radars) along its huge road network, and being caught by one of them can result in a fine, points, losing your licence or even - in extreme cases - jail time.
But there are also a wide variety of different types of cameras on France's roads, including;
The Radar Vitesse Moyenne (average speed camera) consists of two cameras installed at the beginning and end of a controlled stretch of road to record a vehicle’s average speed. They are mounted quite high and resemble CCTV cameras.
READ ALSO: 5 key things to know about France's speed camera network✎
The Radar Fixe is the classic camera adorned with reflective paint and positioned at approximately waist height. It instantly records a vehicle’s speed as it passes.
Don't be surprised to see these vandalised or burnt out - speed cameras are often the target of protests.
The Radar Feu Rouge is tricky to spot as it is incorporated into the traffic lights. It spots drivers who run a red light. Be warned, it can issue fines to drivers who cross on an amber light which turns red as they pass. This one is mainly installed in urban areas.
The Radar Tourelle Mesta Fusion 2 is the camera to end all cameras.
It is mounted on a very solid, 4 meter tall metal pole and has multiple functions. It leans slightly over the road and can identify and follow up to 126 cars at a time over up to 5 carriageways within a radius of around 100 meters.
It sees cars going in both directions, and as well as detecting speed it can also detect cars jumping a red light, overtaking dangerously, driving down a closed road or an emergency lane, crossing a solid central line, or driving too close to the car in front.
It also detects drivers who are using the phone at the wheel or who have not put their seatbelt on.
It knows the difference between motorbikes, cars and lorries, which often have different speed limits.
Having detected an infraction, it can also check the driver’s insurance to see if it is up to date. It is possible to lose up to 8 points if one of these babies catches you committing more than one offence at a time.
The Radar de Chantier is a temporary camera usually used at the site of roadworks. It is a low squat machine sitting on a big fat base. Although some of them remain in the same place for months on end, being battery operated, they are designed to be used at roadworks sites.
They detect drivers who are exceeding the temporary speed restrictions put in place to protect road workers.
The Radar Discriminant is slightly like an old fashioned postbox, with two oblong windows set one above the other. It can tell the difference between motorbikes, cars, vans and trucks – as they often have varying speed limits.
The Radar Hydre detects vehicles which are too noisy, focusing particularly on motorbikes and cars which have been souped up. At the moment it is being tested in various parts of France, but is designed to be used mostly in urban areas.
The Radar Pédagogique is a teaching tool which detects your speed and shows it immediately on a panel of LED lights - your speed usually shows up in red if you are exceeding the limit, or green if you are within the limit. Some of them also have sad faces and smiley faces, to really ram the point home.
There is no fine if you are caught by one of these - the idea is to raise awareness of the speed limit in any given area, and inform drivers when they are exceeding it.
And these are just the fixed ones, police often set up mobile speed traps and there are also 'camera cars' on French roads.
It's worth noting that it is illegal to install any radar detecting device in your car, and doing so can cost you a hefty 6 points off your licence.
However it is not illegal to use a device or an app which warns when the driver is approaching a fixed radar, as many standard GPS system do.
The difference between radar 'detectors' and maps that show radars is that the latter show only the fixed cameras, not mobile ones or police speed traps. They also work off published maps of cameras, so they may not show recently installed ones.
In theory it is even illegal to flash your lights to warn on-coming traffic about speed traps, radars, or cameras - that can also cost you six points on your licence, although in practice many drivers continue to do this.
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