The Slightly Ridiculous Law You Still Need to Obey in France
Planning a road trip to France in your beloved motorhome? Excellent choice — croissants, wine, and champagne await. But before you roll off the ferry dreaming of cheese and cheap wine, there’s one very French bit of bureaucracy you’ll need to deal with: the Angles Morts sticker.
“Angles morts” translates to “blind spot”, which already sounds vaguely dangerous — like a dodgy haircut or an emotional phase. In short, the French want large vehicles to display these bright yellow-and-red blind spot warning stickers so that cyclists, scooterists, and small car drivers know not to loiter invisibly next to your rear end.
If your motorhome is over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW), and you intend on visiting urban areas, then yes — by French law, you need three Angle Mort stickers:
- One on the left side
- One on the right side
- One on the rear right
If you’re under 3.5 tonnes? Technically, you don’t need them. But — and this is a very French “but” — local police might not always agree, and arguing with a French traffic officer tends to end with paperwork and a certain ‘je ne sais quoi‘ of frustration.
The official guidance suggests:
- Between 0.9m and 1.5m from the ground
- Clearly visible and not covered by doors, ladders, lockers or dreams of logic
We stuck ours just to the side of the bike rack on the rear and under the windows on each side — slightly crooked, possibly wine-assisted, but legally acceptable.
You can buy them online from Amazon, motorhome shops, or even at some ferry terminals — but beware the cheap vinyl versions that peel faster than a banana on a hot dashboard. Look for:
- Reflective material
- Official design (yellow background, red triangle, people + vehicle graphic). There are two versions – you need the one with the bus on, not the lorry
- Weatherproof (especially if you’re heading anywhere with actual weather)
We went for the ‘self cling’ version, as they only need to work for a month and then we can take em off with no residue – cos they ain’t the prettiest thing! Nice and easy to fit (spoiler: Nelly supervised), and we have a spare. We’ll post a review of how they faired when we get home.
Our Honest Thoughts?
They’re big, they’re ugly, and they make your van look like it’s cosplaying as a bin lorry. But hey — if it keeps the gendarmes happy and gets us to the cheese stall faster, we’ll take it.
Besides, it gives the van a certain continental look, like it’s just come back from a European rally with extra baggage and stories to tell. Which, to be fair, it has.