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European '''France''' is part of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. It is usually a great country for hitchhiking. There are many friendly car and truck drivers. Drivers have to pay toll on motorways (except in [[Bretagne|Brittany]] and around Lilleat some other places), and you can get a ride quite easily at some ''[[Péage|barrières de péage]]'' (toll stations). When hitchhiking on local roads, you might face some difficulties sometimes, though. One of the commonly known barriers for traveling in France (as in many foreign countries) is the language - you might want to learn some basic phrases before you off on the road in France.

Like everywhere in Europe, walking on the motorways is illegal and thus it's also illegal just legal to hitchhike thereon service areas and at the beginning of on-ramps before the highway sign. If you are picked up Hitchhiking at the police you may be fined, however the Gendarmerie are likely to simply give you a lift péage next to the next toll stop. Use service areasbarrier is forbidden, peages but police and on-rampshighway staff mostly turn a blind eye if you stand there. Moreover some experience shows that French people will more often stop in a place where it is not normally allowed than in other countries. It may also be helpful to write '''S.V.P.''' on your sign with a destination name - it is short for ''s'il vous plaît'' (sih-voo-play) which means ''please'' in French.

In France, most of the motorways are toll roads (''autoroute'') which are the fastest way to hitch across the country. There are two types of toll stations on péages. First, there are big ones where all traffic has to stop to pay a fee (or to get a ticket) - these are ''barrières de péage'' and usually they are excellent spots to get a long-distance ride and make it really easy to hitchhike during the night. They are often located near big cities on the autoroute. Another type is a side barrier situated on all exits in the toll part of the motorway. On latter ones traffic is much smaller, therefore one can expect a longer waiting time, although sometimes congested toll stations of the first type can be difficult to hitch from due to heavy traffic.

To reach the ''barrière de péage'', you may need to walk along the motorway; with a help of a proper map check if the distance needed to be walked is not too long. It is illegal to walk on a side lane of the motorway (same is valid for some parts of national roads (''voie express'' or ''voie rapide'') in France); if police sees you, you will may be driven somewhere safe and may be fined for 11 to 40€. Péage toll stations are considered a part of the motorway, and legally you do not have the right to solicit rides there. You may be asked to wait in the parking area which is after each ''barrière de péage''. In practice, this is rarely enforced (maybe 5% of the time), most toll station employees simply want to make sure you're not endangering yourself or others.

* If you prefer a direct approach you can dash across the lanes one at a time until you're at a busy lane, stand next to the toll machine and talk to the drivers when they stop to pay (usually it is not allowed to hitch from the toll machines but it is often tolerated). Just say "''Bonjour, je vais à [name of the city]''".