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France Breatherlysers


PJay

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hagrid - 2016-05-30 12:20 PM

 

The law stands but, there is no penalty. I carry them, for the sake of £5 every 3 years it avoids any potential hassle.

 

 

Kind of agree, but why pay for some-one getting rich on the pickings of visitors?

PJay

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Yes, we keep them updated, as you never know what the position is if you are stopped and they check them....off to France on Ferry to Roscoff shortly, so will be interested to hear the result of the referendum and if there is any change in attitudes towards the Brits afterwards....
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This May 2016 entry advises

 

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://droit-finances.commentcamarche.net/faq/8205-ethylotest-obligatoire-ce-que-dit-la-loi&prev=search

 

It would appear that French police have the authority to officially ‘remind’ a driver who fails to meet the breathalyser law that such a law exists, but not to take the matter any further or to impose any sort of penalty.

 

I honestly can’t see any point in renewing out-of-date breathalysers simply to conform with this strange French law. I could understand doing this if a driver believes he/she may use the breathalysers to 'self-test’, but I find it hard to imagine a scenario where not carrying a breathalyser, or carrying an outdated breathalyser, would be a realistic risk when driving in France.

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hagrid - 2016-05-30 12:20 PM

 

The law stands but, there is no penalty. I carry them, for the sake of £5 every 3 years it avoids any potential hassle.

 

You make it sound easy..Oh!.. it is.

 

When holidaying in a country that is always(rightly) applauded for being so "motorhome friendly" (..with it's "aires" and wild-camping options and ample MH parking etc etc), then fines or no fines, why would anyone baulk at paying a fiver in order to comply with their laws and keep them sweet?...:-S

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Will86 - 2016-05-31 9:45 AM

 

Are the breathalysers dated ?

 

To conform to the French law a single-use breathalyser (éthylotest) needs to be marked NF (Norme Française) and the ‘expiry date' shown on the packaging must not have passed.

 

When purchasing, particular care needs to be taken regarding the expiry date as (apparently) there are no French regulations relating to the ‘remaining life’ of a breathalyser after the sale has occurred. A single-use NF-marked breathalyser has a typical shelf-life of two or three years, but I’ve seen breathalysers on sale in France with under a year of life remaining. As the sale of single-use breathalysers in France nowadays will be small, French retailers are likely to have old stock on their shelves.

 

NF-marked breathalysers are easly obtained in the UK - example here:

 

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/travel-accessories/breathalysers/alcosense-single-use-nf-breathalyser-twin-pack

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