Parking fines in France: €35 or €135, unpaid FPS, €150 in Paris
Obstructive, seriously obstructive, dangerous, abandoned: four categories, two amounts, and only one that costs points. Unpaid street parking is no longer a fine at all.
The French Highway Code sorts banned parking into four categories. Obstructive parking (double parking, a delivery bay, a charging point taken by a vehicle that is not charging…), under article R417-10, is a class 2 offence: a €35 standard fine, €75 increased. Seriously obstructive parking under article R417-11 (pavement, pedestrian crossing, cycle lane, disabled bay…) is class 4: €135, €375 increased, with no points. Dangerous parking, near a bend or the brow of a hill for example, costs €135 and 3 points. Abandoned parking, more than seven days in one place, is class 2. None of these fines has a reduced amount: article 529-7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure excludes parking. Unpaid pay-and-display parking has, since 2018, led to a post-parking charge (forfait post-stationnement, FPS) set by each town, which is not a fine.
Standard fine · class 4
€135
Seriously obstructive parking (crossing, disabled bay, pavement…)
| Reduced (15 days, 30 online) | none |
| Increased (after 45 days) | €375 |
| Points deducted | 0 |
| Suspension risked | no |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The four categories
| Category | Class | Standard | Increased | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obstructive parking (double parking, delivery bay, charging point…) | 2 | €35 | €75 | 0 |
| Seriously obstructive parking (crossing, disabled bay, pavement…) | 4 | €135 | €375 | 0 |
| Dangerous parking | 4 | €135 | €375 | 3 |
| Abandoned parking (over 7 days in one place) | 2 | €35 | €75 | 0 |
The full lists are in article R417-10 for obstructive parking and article R417-11 for seriously obstructive parking. Dangerous parking is the only one that can lead to a licence suspension, of up to three years.
Fine or FPS: read the paper
A penalty notice shows a class and an amount set by the Code of Criminal Procedure; it is paid or contested like any fine, with the deadlines on the contesting a fine page. An FPS payment notice carries the town’s name and an amount the town set: Service Public describes its separate procedure.
Unpaid FPS: the increase
The FPS must be paid within 3 months of the payment notice being served. After that, an enforcement order is issued and a warning letter claims the FPS plus an increase of 20 % of the unpaid amount, never less than €50. Paying everything within a month of the warning being sent cuts the increase by 20 %; beyond that, the public accountant can seize a bank account or wages, according to the Service Public page on the FPS.
| Unpaid FPS | Increase | Total due | Paid within a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| €35 | €50 | €85 | €75 |
| €50 | €50 | €100 | €90 |
| €75 | €50 | €125 | €115 |
| €150 | €50 | €200 | €190 |
| €225 | €50 | €275 | €265 |
In Paris: the €150 or €225 FPS for heavy vehicles
Since 1 October 2024, according to the City of Paris, visitors parking a heavy vehicle pay three times the usual rate; Paris residents are not affected. Deliberation 2024 DVD 43-1 covers vehicles with a kerb mass above 1,600 kg, a threshold raised to 2 tonnes for electric and some hybrid vehicles by deliberation 2024 DVD 110. For them, the FPS is €225 in the Centre district and the 5th to 11th arrondissements, €150 in the 12th to 20th and in the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, less the last ticket paid. Paid within 9 days of the payment notice being sent, it drops to €157.50 and €105. Left unpaid, a €150 FPS becomes €200 with its increase.