The autoroute (French: [otoʁut] , highway or motorway) system in France consists largely of toll roads (76% of the total). It is a network of 11,882 km (7,383 mi) of motorways as of 2014. On road signs, autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo. Toll autoroutes are signalled with the word péage (toll or toll plaza). All are in metropolitan France except for the A1 (972) in Martinique.

Source: Observatoire national interministériel de la sécurité routière.[1]

Length

Network length (Privately managed & national statistics)
Source ASFA.,[2] ASFA 2018;[3] Eurostat (road_if_motorwa serie)[4]

Numbering scheme

Unlike other motorway systems, there is no systematic numbering system, but there is a clustering of Autoroute numbers based on region.

A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, A10, A13, A14, A15, A16 radiate clockwise from Paris, with A2, A11, and A12 branching from A1, A10, and A13, respectively. A7 begins in Lyon, where A6 ends. A8 and A9 begin from the A7.

The 20s are found in northern and northwestern France. The 30s are found in eastern and northeastern France. The 40s are found near the Alps. The 50s are in the southeast, near the French Riviera. The 60s are found in southern France. The 70s are found in the center of the country. The 80s are found in western France, except for the A89 autoroute which goes from southwestern to eastern France.

Named routes

Autoroutes are often given a name, even if these are not very used:

Administration

The status of motorways in France has been the subject of debate through years, from their construction until recently. Originally, the autoroutes were built by private companies mandated by the French government and followed strict construction rules as described below. They are operated and maintained by mixed companies held in part by private interests and in part by the state. Those companies hold concessions, which means that autoroutes belong to the French state and their administration to semi-private companies. Vinci controls around 4,380 km (2,720 mi) of motorway. The different companies are as follows:

Only in the Brittany region do most of the autoroutes belong to the government. They are operated by the regional council and are free from tolls.

Privately managed
Source ASFA[2]

Safety on French autoroutes

Motorway speed limits

France has the following speed limits for limited access roads classified as motorways:

Limited access roads classified as express roads have lower speed limit (90 or 110 km/h, 55 or 70 mph).

In normal conditions, there is a minimum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) in the leftmost lane. There is no minimum speed on the others lanes, however the speed must be adapted to the conditions and not constitute a hazard by being too slow.

Safe design

The autoroutes are designed to increase driver safety and allow for higher speed limits (130 km/h or 80 mph) than on regular roads (80 km/h or 50 mph) without increasing the risk of accidents.

The safety features include:

Safety results

Fatalities on motorways have decreased between 2002 and 2016.

Fatalities
Source ASFA[7][8]

Fatalities accidents scenario

On French motorways, in 2016, 121 fatal accidents are direct/initial accidents representing 82% of fatal accidents, 16 (11%) fatal accidents occurs after a previous accident, and 10 (7%) fatal accidents occur after an incident.[8]

Three scenarios catch two-thirds of initial accidents:[8]

Fatalities and accidents remaining factors

Most of fatalities occur by night.

Fatal accident by Light condition Fatal accident cause
Source Sécurité routière[9] Source ASFA[2]

Several factor of accidents are more highly probable by night in proportion to the traffic, although inattentiveness remains risky during the day.

Influence of time on the risk of accident (% of accidents divided by % of traffic)
Source ASFA[8]

Young drivers

Young drivers between 18 and 34 years old represent 19% of motorway drivers, but they are overrepresented in fatal motor vehicle collisions[7] and are involved in more than half of fatal accidents.[7]

Involvement of young drivers in 2016, in fatal accidents
young drivers in dangerous manoeuvre young drivers in inattentiveness young drivers in excessive speeding
Source ASFA[7]

Pedestrians

Although pedestrians are forbidden on motorways in conformity with the Vienna Convention, they are still sometimes killed on motorways.

In case a vehicle on a carriage cannot move, motorways safety rules remains applicable: it is forbidden for a pedestrian to travel on the motorway by article 421-2 from the "Code de la route" law.[10] For this reason, in case of accident or breakdown, it is advised to turn on hazard warning lights, wear high-visibility clothing, and go in a safer place such as the other side from the traffic barrier where there is no traffic. Since 2008, it is clarified that warning triangles are no longer mandatory when they would endanger the driver of the disabled vehicle.[11]

Pedestrians killed in 2016
Place where pedestrians are killed Reason for pedestrian presence
Source ASFA

Economics

The toll roads were granted as concessions to mixed-economy corporations; the free roads are directly administered by the national government. Tolls are either based on a flat-rate for access to the road or on the distance driven. The latter case is the most common for long distances; users take a ticket from an automatic machine when they enter the autoroute, and pay according to the distance when exiting; toll booths accept multiple payment methods.

In 2005, the Villepin government proposed a controversial plan to sell all of the state's holdings in autoroute companies to private investors. Critics contend that the price announced is well below the profit forecasts for these companies, and thus that the government sacrifices the future to solve current budgetary problems.[12]

Mode of payment
Source ASFA[2][3]

List of autoroutes

Number Length (km) Length (mi) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Route name Formed Removed Notes
A 1 211 131 Paris (Porte de la Chapelle) Lille (A25) Autoroute du Nord 01954-01-011954 current Part of E 15 / E 17 / E 19 / E 42
A 2 77.6 48.2 Combles (A1) Belgium 01972-01-011972 current Part of E 19
A 3 18.4 11.4 Paris (Porte de Bagnolet) Roissy-en-France (A1) 01969-01-011969 current Part of E 15
A 4 482 300 Paris (Porte de Bercy) Strasbourg Autoroute de l'Est 01970-01-011970 current Part of E 17 / E 25 / E 46 / E 50
A 5 225 140 Vert-Saint-Denis (Seine-et-Marne) Langres (A31) 01983-01-011983 current Part of E 17 / E 54
A 6 466.3 289.7 Lyon (A7 / M7) Paris (Wissous) (A6a / A6b) Autoroute du Sud, Autoroute du Soleil 01960-01-011960 current Part of E 15 / E 21 / E 60
A 7 312 194 Marseille Lyon (A6 / M6) Autoroute du Soleil 01951-01-011951 current Part of E 15 / E 80 / E 714
A 8 224 139 La Fare-les-Oliviers (A7) Italy La Provençale 01961-01-011961 current Part of E 74 / E 80
A 9 280 170 Spain Orange (A7) La Languedocienne, La Catalane 01960-01-011960 current Part of E 15 / E 80
A 10 557 346 Bordeaux (A630) Paris (Wissous) (A6a / A6b) L'Aquitaine 01960-01-011960 current Part of E 5
A 11 347 216 Nantes Ponthévrard (A10) L'Océane 01966-01-011966 current Part of E 50 / E 60 / E 501
A 12 8.5 5.3 Trappes Rocquencourt (A13) Autoroute de Bretagne 01950-01-011950 current
A 13 226 140 Caen (Porte de Paris) Paris (Porte d'Auteuil) Autoroute de Normandie 01940-01-011940 current Part of E 5 / E 46
A 14 21.7 13.5 La Défense Orgeval (A13) 01996-01-011996 current
A 15 24 15 Gennevilliers (A86) Cergy 01974-01-011974 current
A 16 319 198 L'Isle-Adam Belgium L'Européenne 01991-01-011991 current Part of E 40 / E 44 / E 401 / E 402
A 19 131 81 Orléans (Artenay) (A10) Sens (A5) L'Éco Autoroute 01993-01-011993 current Part of E 511
A 20 428 266 Montauban (A62) Vierzon (A71) L'Occitane 01992-01-011992 current Part of E 9
A 21 58.9 36.6 Aix-Noulette at an interchange with the A26 autoroute Douchy-les-Mines (A2) Rocade Minière 01971-01-011971 current
A 22 15.8 9.8 Villeneuve-d'Ascq (A1) Belgium Autoroute du Nord 01972-01-011972 current Part of E 17
A 23 42.7 26.5 Lesquin (A27) Trith-Saint-Léger (A2) 01978-01-011978 current
A 24 Amiens Belgium 01980-01-011980 02011-01-012011 Proposed, but never built
A 25 62.7 39.0 Lesquin (A1) Dunkirk 01963-01-011963 current Part of E 42
A 26 395 245 Troyes (A5) Calais (A16) Autoroute des Anglais 01976-01-011976 current Part of E 15 / E 17 / E 50
A 27 13.7 8.5 Lesquin (A22) Belgium 01973-01-011973 current Part of E 42
A 28 366.5 227.7 Abbeville (A16) Tours (A10) Autoroute des Estuaires 02005-01-012005 current Part of E 44 / E 402 / E 502
A 29 183 114 Le Havre (A13) Saint-Quentin (A26) 01995-01-011995 current Part of E 44 / E 402
A 30 25 16 Uckange (A31) Crusnes 01963-01-011963 current
A 31 351 218 Beaune (A6) Luxembourg 01966-01-011966 current
A 32 Freyming-Merlebach Germany 01972-01-011972 current
A 33 26.8 16.7 Nancy (A31) Hudiviller 01953-01-011953 current Local autoroute around Nancy
A 34 98 61 Reims (A4) Sedan 01973-01-011973 current
A 35 172 107 Germany Switzerland (Basel) Autoroute des Cigognes 01965-01-011965 current
A 36 237 147 Ladoix-Serrigny (A31) Germany La Comtoise 01986-01-011986 current
A 38 37 23 Pouilly-en-Auxois (A6) Dijon La Côte-d'Orienne 01973-01-011973 current
A 39 144 89 Dijon Bourg-en-Bresse (A40) Autoroute Verte 01992-01-011992 current
A 40 205.9 127.9 Mâcon (A6) Italy (Mont Blanc Tunnel) Autoroute Blanche, Autoroute des Titans 01973-01-011973 current Part of E62
A 41 112.9 70.2 Switzerland (Geneva) Grenoble 01975-01-011975 current
A 42 52.3 32.5 Lyon Bourg-en-Bresse (A40) 01987-01-011987 current Part of E611
A 43 208 129 Lyon Italy 01973-01-011973 current
A 44 Bypassing Lyon to the west
A 45 Lyon Saint-Étienne
A 46 47.6 29.6 Anse (A6) Givors (A7 / A47) (bypassing Lyon by east) 01992-01-011992 current
A 47 29.5 18.3 Lyon (Givors) (A7 / A46) Saint-Étienne 01962-01-011962 current Part of E70
A 48 52.5 32.6 Lyon (A43) Grenoble 01968-01-011968 current
A 49 70.4 43.7 Grenoble Valence 01992-01-011992 current
A 50 70 43 Marseille Toulon (A57) 01962-01-011962 current
A 51 172 107 Marseille (A7) Grenoble, Val de Durance 01953-01-011953 current
A 52 25.3 15.7 Aix-en-Provence (A8) Aubange (A50) Great ring of Marseille 01974-01-011974 current
A 54 49 30 Nîmes (A9) Salon Sud (link with A7) 01970-01-011970 current
A 55 36.7 22.8 Martigues Marseille 01972-01-011972 current
A 56 Link between A54 and A55 from Salon to Fos freight port proposed  
A 57 52 32 Toulon (A50) Le Cannet-des-Maures (A8) 01964-01-011964 current
A 61 147.5 91.7 Toulouse (A62) Narbonne (A9) Autoroute des Deux Mers 01978-01-011978 current Part of E80
A 62 242 150 Bordeaux (A630) Toulouse (A61) Autoroute des Deux Mers 01975-01-011975 current Part of E72
A 63 206 128 Bordeaux (A630) Spain Autoroute de la Côte Basque 01972-01-011972 current Part of E05/E70
A 64 287 178 Toulouse (A620) Bayonne (A63) La Pyrénéenne 01977-01-011977 current Part of E80
A 65 150 93 Bordeaux (A62) Pau (A64) 02010-01-012010 current Part of E7
A 66 38.2 23.7 Toulouse (A61) Pamiers 02002-01-012002 current Part of E9
A 68 61.9 38.5 Toulouse (A62 / A61) Albi 01992-01-011992 current
A 71 290.5 180.5 Orléans (A10) Clermont-Ferrand (A75) L'Arverne 01986-01-011986 current
A 72 55 34 Saint-Étienne Balbigny (A89)
A 75 335 208 Clermont-Ferrand (A71) Béziers (A9) La Méridienne
A 77 161 100 Poligny (A6) Nevers Autoroute de l'Arbre 01981-01-011981 current
A 79 92 57 Montmarault (A71) Digoin La Bourbonnaise 02022-01-012022 current Part of E 62 
A 81 94.8 58.9 Le Mans (A11) La Gravelle 01982-01-011982 current
A 83 152.5 94.8 Nantes Niort (A10) 02001-01-012001 current
A 84 170.5 105.9 Caen (Porte de Bretagne) Rennes Autoroute des Estuaires 02003-01-012003 current Part of E 3 / E 46 / E 401
A 85 270 170 Angers (A11) Vierzon (A71) 01997-01-011997 current
A 86 80.1 49.8 Paris orbital 02009-01-012009 current
A 87 129 80 Angers (A11) La Roche-sur-Yon 02002-01-012002 current
A 88 117.7 73.1 Caen (Porte d'Espagne) Sées (A28) 02010-01-012010 current
A 89 544 338 Lyon (A6) Bordeaux 01991-01-011991 current Part of E 70
A 500 2 1.2 La Turbie (A8) Monaco 01992-01-011992 current
A 507 9.7 6.0 Ring of Marseille 02016-01-012016 current  
A 520 3 1.9 Roquevaire (A52) Auriol
A 557 2 1.2 One-direction ring of Marseille downtown 01969-01-011969 current

Others

Radio coverage

The FM 107.7 radio coverage is available in 2017 on 8902 kilometres of the (ASFA) network.[3] This is a list of highways that are updated in 107.7 FM every 15 minutes, live 24/7 (if the highway is said alone, it means that the station covers all around it):

Sanef 107.7 (1850km)

Nord
Est
Ouest

Autoroute INFO (2487km)

Centre-Est (live from Dijon)
Rhône-Alpes (live from Chambéry)

Environment

99% of the privately managed network is protected by natural fencing.[3]

Privately managed motorways have 1764 wildlife crossing structures.[3]

See also

References

  1. Bilan de l'accidentalité de l'année 2015
  2. 2017 CHIFFRES CLÉS (PDF) (Report) (in French). Association des sociétés françaises d'autoroutes - ASFA. 2017.
  3. 2018 CHIFFRES CLÉS (PDF) (Report) (in French). Association des sociétés françaises d'autoroutes - ASFA. 2018.
  4. "Statistics - Eurostat". Eurostat.
  5. ICTAAL INSTRUCTION SUR LES CONDITIONS TECHNIQUES D'AMÉNAGEMENT DES AUTOROUTES DE LIAISON (PDF) (Report) (in French). Sétra - Service d'études sur les transports, les routes et leurs aménagements. 12 December 2000 – via DTRF - Documentation des Techniques Routières Françaises.
  6. by definition motorways are forbidden to pedestrians
  7. 2016 SÉCURITÉ SUR AUTOROUTE - ACCIDENTS MORTELS - CHIFFRES CLÉS (PDF) (Report) (in French). Association des sociétés françaises d'autoroutes - ASFA. 2016.
  8. 2016 SÉCURITÉ SUR AUTOROUTE - ANALYSE DES ACCIDENTS MORTELS ET CORPORELS (PDF) (Report) (in French). Association des sociétés françaises d'autoroutes - ASFA. 2016.
  9. "État de l'insécurité routière | Observatoire national interministériel de la sécurité routière". Observatoire national interministériel de la sécurité routière (in French).
  10. Code de la route : Chapitre Ier : Autoroutes. (Articles R421-1 à R421-10), I.-L'accès des autoroutes est interdit à la circulation :
  11. "Gilet et triangle de sécurité". Ministère de l'Économie des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique (in French). 23 October 2020.
  12. Press release of 12-14-2005 Archived November 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

Media related to Autoroutes in France at Wikimedia Commons