Road classifications

France has a comprehensive road network, consisting of over one million kilometres of routes of varying standards and importance.

Those roads that form part of the classified network are numbered according to thier status, whether they are trunk routes managed on behalf the state, or local roads that are looked after by the local county or town councils.

Each tier is denoted by a different colour cartridge, the little number panel that appears on roadside signage and distance markers.

Autoroute

This is the French motorway network, a network of high-speed roads that whisks traffic across the country quickly and usually with with minimal fuss.

Autoroutes feature blue signage which make them easy to identify. Even away from the network, blue signage will direct long-distance traffic towards the motorway.

The main thing to remember is that most of the autoroute network is tolled. There are some free motorways, which are mainly those in major urban areas, and much of the network in the far north of the country.

 

Route Nationale

Nationales form the strategic trunk road network, which today complements the motorway network by filling in the gaps.

These are busy roads, and can be either single or dual carriageway - so do expect both. They will be laden with trucks and other slower traffic. Apart from some toll tunnels and bridges, they are always free to use.

The Nationales network is a lot smaller than in previous years, the vast majority having been downgraded to Départementales or replaced by motorways.

 

Route Départementale

The network of secondary routes, criss-crossing their way across the whole of France in large numbers.

Départementales range in quality, from narrow country lanes right the way through to motorway standard dual carriageways.

Even though they are not strategic routes, many of them still play an important role in linking large towns and cities, as well as providing alternative routes to the motorways. Many are former nationales, the usual tell-tale sign being that they have been given an unusually high number by the local département.

If you have a bit more time and wish to avoid paying motorway tolls, then these roads can make a great alternative - especially on those former nationales.

One thing to remember is that, because the number is allocated by the local council, the number doesn't always stay the same when you cross from one département into another. This is one of the reasons why the natives like to navigate by place name and not road number.

Route Métropolitaine

This is a relatively new classification, having only been introduced in 2012, and is only found in some of the Métropoles (city regions), the first of which being Nice-Côte d'Azur.

They are route départementales in a differing guise, necessitated due to the change in the authority's legal status, however some Métropoles have additionally taken control of the former route nationales within their area (for example, the N7 became M2007 within Nice). In the case of Lyon, they even took control of part of the now-former A6 and A7.

 

Route Territoriale

You're only likely to encounter this class of road if you head over to Corsica, this category being unique to this island region.

These roads are former nationales that have were handed over to the regional Council in 2014, forming a small network of major routes that traverse the island.

 

Route Communale

These are small local roads that the local commune (municipal council) have deemed to have some level of importance - normally this will be linking a village or small town with the main road network. One thing to note is that their numbers are not always shown on signage.

One oddity is that one of France's most famous roads is a route communale.... the Boulevard Périphérique in Paris.

Euroroute

Some autoroutes and route nationales form part of the UN's international Trans-European Road Network. Where this the case, the road concerned is given an additional route number (or in some cases, two where thery run concurrently).

To show this status, supplementary green cartridges appear on direction and distance signage alongside the regular A- or N- road number, for example  A 13   E 05   E 46 .

Footnote.... 

One thing to note is that away from motorways, the French tend to navigate by destination rather than route number, generally because of road numbers changing at council boundaries. Road numbers appear on directions signs at a road junction, but not normally on approach signage.

When driving on ordinary roads, look for places on green backgrounds, which are the larger towns and cities signposted from further away. Local towns and villages are only signposted as you get closer to these locations.