Visiting France

[cog16]

As has been said by other french residents, it all depends what you intend to do. I recommend. ABRP as a planning tool anyway, and Chargemap as well. Google maps is much improved and tells you where chargers are en route.
If you are on a motorway dash then fast chargers are available at every aire which sells fuel, but , in the high season , I suspect that they may not suffice for the demand, even though they are getting faster (250+).

Off the motorways, the bornes are scattered, much slower, and can be unreliable. I use RFID only, and based in Nouvelle Aquitaine, have a Mobive card, Chargemap and izivia come in handy as well. I think off motorway travel is more fun for the hols, as long as you plan well and have good navigation software

Bornes are scarce and limited in hotels, but improving rapidly. Some are free to use but more are attached to one of many networks.

Tesla (for non Tesla cars) offered limited, but more expensive service.

Ze anti-french replies earlier are a source of fun.
Ive never been asked for my breathalyser, but random tests are the norm, and I've tested negative once (coming back from a party)- was asked if I had been drinking - replied 1 pineau, blew in, and he went off to look. My wife reminded me that I'd also had a glass of wine (panic), but I tested -ve and had a chat about my new ( to him ) ZS EV.

HI Vis - you need 2 anyway, and if you do break down, you are to escort all passengers to the roadside ( behind barriers if present) while waiting ( probably a long time!) for rescue. Insurance strongly recommended, as breakdown recovery is not cheap.
Use 112 ( in case of emergencies - multi lingual)

I cannot stress enough the difference when travelling in peak season, the French are lemmings, all travelling at the same time, eating at the same time, stopping at the same hotels, do allow for long delays and lots of waiting for bornes and ENJOY LA BELLE FRANCE

 

[Pontyboy]

Breathalyser in France.
My understanding is that despite many recommendations you do not have to carry them by law as they were suggested but never ratified by the French legal system.

 

[altexa]

Breathalyser in France.
My understanding is that despite many recommendations you do not have to carry them by law as they were suggested but never ratified by the French legal system.

Agree. It was supposed to be compulsory, so I bought a couple, but then they dropped the requirement

For a lot of non-rapid chargers on the Freshmile network you can pay as you go by flashing a qr code on the charger itself and paying by card. It is usually slightly more expensive though. Also if you go past a leclerc hypermarket, lots of them have one hour free charging. Check at the front desk. Most of them seem to also use Freshmile. And if you stop the charging session at, say, 58 minutes and then start it again, it lets you, and stays free for another hour

 

[John Wat]

I am planning a few days holiday in France. I have a Type 2 3 phase cable and I assume finding and using EV chargers won’t be much different from UK but paying for a charge seems to be a minefield. I would like to just pay with a normal credit card or maybe my Octopus Electric Universe Card but it seems I may need to buy membership cards such as Ivizia, Chargemap, etc in advance. I don’t mind paying fees to sign up for such cards if necessary but I don’t want to pay for 4 different cards that I may not need. I would be grateful for any advice and recommendations from people who a familiar with the systems in France.

I would say have a look before you set off, I got stuck in France as everywhere I tried was closed coming back through on a Sunday. It turned out to be stressful and was toying with the idea of never going down this route again, I have since got a Euro charge card a
and might try it if and when we go back to Belgium which wasn’t a problem at all. The French part was the stressful bit as I say but I would like to give it another go just to see if we could make it a bit more successful

 

[Thebiglad]

Hi there, here's my recommendations for charging in France :

Go to Carrefour when shopping, you can a free charge (22kw/hr)

Chargemap card - works perfectly and is market price for currants.

 

[Rookery]

It does come with its own holdall!

I think it's legally required because the Gendarmes always forget to bring theirs.
It's also useful to have extras. If you're stopped and asked to use one, you instantly fall foul of the law that says you have to have two in the car.

Perhaps check on the breathalysers as I don't think they are compulsory anymore.

 

[Derek25]

Hi there, here's my recommendations for charging in France :

Go to Carrefour when shopping, you can a free charge (22kw/hr)

Chargemap card - works perfectly and is market price for currants.

Blackcurrants or redcurrants?

 

[Thebiglad]

Blackcurrants or redcurrants?

Normally a bit of both with one more with a yellow and green stripe.

 

[Plodalong]

Hi All, I’m new to EV and lovin’ it. We’re taking a trip to Centre Parcs (west of Paris) and have signed up to Chargemap. In their guide booklet they say to charge at 22kw stations I need a Type 3c cable to connect to French charging points. Is this correct?? (I have a 3phase type 2 male to type 2 female cable)
Cheers

 

[Cocijo]

I am planning a few days holiday in France. I have a Type 2 3 phase cable and I assume finding and using EV chargers won’t be much different from UK but paying for a charge seems to be a minefield. I would like to just pay with a normal credit card or maybe my Octopus Electric Universe Card but it seems I may need to buy membership cards such as Ivizia, Chargemap, etc in advance. I don’t mind paying fees to sign up for such cards if necessary but I don’t want to pay for 4 different cards that I may not need. I would be grateful for any advice and recommendations from people who a familiar with the systems in France.

You may find this thread useful.

Giving the MG4 a workout this week, overnight to Paris...

Quick overnighter for an event in Paris 212 Miles from Home to the Folkstone Ionity, 200 Miles from there to Saint Witz Ionity just north of Paris Work Event in Paris for 2 hours (Sigh) Evening HOTEL Next morning up to Rouen Ionity Back across and up to Maidstone Ionity. Then Home 900 Miles...

www.speakev.com

 

[Derek25]

Hi All, I’m new to EV and lovin’ it. We’re taking a trip to Centre Parcs (west of Paris) and have signed up to Chargemap. In their guide booklet they say to charge at 22kw stations I need a Type 3c cable to connect to French charging points. Is this correct?? (I have a 3phase type 2 male to type 2 female cable)
Cheers

Standard type 2 is all you need. No different to the UK. It's worth having an RFID card such as Chargemap to start chargepoints. You can't charge with the Chargemap app but you can with other apps. Shell Recharge app and card is widely accepted in France.

 

[Plodalong]

Thanks Derek

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Hi All, I’m new to EV and lovin’ it. We’re taking a trip to Centre Parcs (west of Paris) and have signed up to Chargemap. In their guide booklet they say to charge at 22kw stations I need a Type 3c cable to connect to French charging points. Is this correct?? (I have a 3phase type 2 male to type 2 female cable)
Cheers

As stated earlier in the thread, you'll need a Crit'Air sticker if driving into/through a city.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

You could check if Centre Parcs has suitable chargers. A crit air sticker is only needed if you are going through an area where they are applicable (centre Paris/ Rouen etc ) they have a website.

 

[Plodalong]

Thanks guys. Applying for the crit air was surprisingly easy.

 

[Bodgerx]

It would be useful if people follow up with their experiences after asking the questions here.

I have a lot of experience of driving in Europe (France and Italy mostly), but chickened out for last year's summer holiday when I had the Ioniq and hired an ICE at Calais.

This year will be my first time in an EV in Europe and August is approaching and my nervousness is increasing.

Appreciate the Carrefour tip, will see if I can make use of that.

Would be interested in more Tesla supercharger experiences - the one I've tried in the UK was flawless.

 

[Derek25]

It would be useful if people follow up with their experiences after asking the questions here.

I have a lot of experience of driving in Europe (France and Italy mostly), but chickened out for last year's summer holiday when I had the Ioniq and hired an ICE at Calais.

This year will be my first time in an EV in Europe and August is approaching and my nervousness is increasing.

Appreciate the Carrefour tip, will see if I can make use of that.

Would be interested in more Tesla supercharger experiences - the one I've tried in the UK was flawless.

Public ncharging in France is better than the UK. The only advice you need is to make sure you arm yourself with at least one RFID card such as Shell Recharge or Chargemap. No need to be nervous about it at all. There's a Facebook group worth following that's dedicated to travel in France U.K. / France Cross Border EV drivers | Facebook If you want some reassurance about the sheer volume of decent rapid charging available in France, check out this map https://***********/StationsVE and follow the French Facebook group associated with it Superchargeurs pour tous France (Ionity, Fastned, Electra, and co ...) | Facebook If your car works on a UK supercharger, it'll work anywhere in Europe.

 

[siteguru]

Looks like the forum doesn't like something about that link?

 

[Torryhun]

Question, does our AA cover to Europe? Our do you need additional cover?

 

[Derek25]

Looks like the forum doesn't like something about that link?

It's a Google map link. Let's try again https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...fr&ll=47.0174342346753,0.6377415965163724&z=4

Question, does our AA cover to Europe? Our do you need additional cover?

You do need extra cover. It's a pain really because you can get UK and Europe cover for pretty much the same price as Europe only. For me, it makes the MG cover a nonexistent benefit.