Controle de Gendarmes

[idun]

How often have you been stopped and had your papers 'controlled'.

I have been stopped about 4 times.

In my old village, the gendarmes used be canny about when they stopped cars. They would wait until about 4.15 and find reasons to stop the women, on their way to pick their kids up. They could always find a reason, strangely they rarely stopped a man. My friend was stopped, not on the way to school, but she lives near the school and was her way home from work, she had not put her seat belt on........ just going round the corner........(I wouldn't do that). Her son, drove past her, also no seat belt, didn't get stopped.

However, we used to have friends, a couple from the Antilles, nurses and also black, they would, especially him, get stopped often, on his way to and from work.

So even as a white woman, my few 'controles' were not too bad in the grand scheme of things. I have never been stopped in the street, there again, as I said, I am a white woman, so what were the chances...... small I would imagine.

[mint]

Stopped 3 times in the UK and once in France.

Of the 3 times in the UK, once was for speeding, once for nothing other than friendly banter (I was young and was driving a bright yellow MG) and once for a breathalyser test.

In France, it was for a controle d'alcool.

Apart from that speeding ticket, no other convictions[:-))]

[Chancer]

Stopped 4 to 6 times in the car hard to recall exactly, never ever asked for any documents, was I the owner of the car, my name or anything just blow in the tube then than you very much you can go on your way now.

 

Before moving to France I was stopped in my UK reg vehicle towing a trailer with my race car outside the circuit at St Pol, he looked at the windscreen could not see anything resembling a vignette then asked for my permis de conduire, I did not understand him [:$] Funny how they no longer want to see it, but they can see most of what they want by looking at the windscreen, I think if a car (not the driver) is insured and has a valid CT, if the driver is not drunk then they dont give a 4x about a permis, most people probably dont have one.

[andyh4]

Stopped once on IRRC a Saturday morning and totally confused the Gs with a German registration and UK identity docs. Just waved on.

OH (similar situation) stopped late Sunday afternoon and was Breathalysed. Asked how long she had been in France, was it permanent etc. No probs.

I rather suspect both were looking for drunk drivers. The first from a Friday pm do and the second rom the obligatory Sunday lunch. However the supplementary questions for OH suggest that they may have been looking also for foreigners who should have registered vehicles (and themselves) in France but perhaps had not. We had a lot of Dutch registered vehicles in the area that seemed to be around 12 months per year. Sheer speculation on my part of course, but the questions did seem to be leading to an "are you sure this vehicle should not be on French plates" basis.

[idun]

I have never been breathalysed.

Only ever stopped in France and had to show my papers on my french car, all of them, in spite of stuff being on the windscreen, y compris the carte grise, which we always kept in the car.

[lindal1000]

Never in any country. OH has been stopped and breathalyser 4 times in France when he's been in the van.

[EuroTrash]

In France:

Stopped and breathalysed once at around 5.30am on I think a Monday morning - I was working and living onsite about 200km from where I live, had been home for a couple of days and was on my way back to work. I guess they were looking for people driving home from parties.

Stopped and had papers checked at the entrance to Calais port once as part of an exercise, they had set up camp on a roundabout and were stopping everyone.

And a very long time ago before I moved here I was stopped in the motorhome and quizzed as to whether I had a home in France (possibly because I'd been spending a lot of time in that particular area a lot). I told him quite truthfully that I didn't but I was looking for one and that was why I was here, and we parted on the best of terms.

[Lehaut]

Once in 21 years. Was early on, nearly returned the salute after 27 years in the military! Did not have my wallet with me so no papers, got a warning.

Never in the UK

[alittlebitfrench]

Never in 20 years plus.

Used to play in a pool team and was always out about late at night/early morning but never been stopped.

Scary place rural France at night. Lol.

[dave21478]

4 or 5 times in France, always in the car, never on foot.

They just seem to lose interest as soon as they clock my accent. They have sometimes given my licence a half-assed glance, but its clear they arent actually reading anything on it.

On the other hand, the three times I have gone to the cozzers to report relatively minor things they have acted like I brought fresh intelligence on ISIS movements.....all hands on deck, multiple officers taking endless statements, countless forms....its dragged on for hours each time. I guess they dont have much to do round here.

[AnOther]

In 50 years of driving I've never been stopped either in France or UK, and that's despite probably driving more miles/km than most.

Here's a couple of questions for those of you who have been stopped in France:

1. Were you asked to produce a breathalyser and if you could was it in date & NF marked ?

2. If you were but couldn't or could but it wasn't in date etc. was there any consequence ?

Anybody even seen the wretched things on sale in the shops anymore ?

[dave21478]

Never been asked for one, never been asked about vest or triangle either. I dont carry breathalysers and never will....literally pointless. I sometimes see them for sale by the till in Leclerc Auto.

[powerdesal]

Been stopped twice in France, first time was about 30 years ago when I was breathalysed. The second time was a routine stop, checked licence and carte gris.

No problems at all. Only been stopped once in UK, many years ago when serving in RAF. It was a search for an escaped prisoner and the only comment was related to the fact that I didn't have my F1250 (RAF ID card) on me - it just had to be an ex RAF Policeman who stopped me !!!!!!!

[alittlebitfrench]

For the sake of science I decided to drink a bottle of wine and breabreatherlyse myself using one of those off the shelf breatherlyser type things.... and.......I was fine to drive or fly a plane ?????

I would not trust one of those things.

[Chancer]

ANO. I am sure you know the answer to that without asking the question!

 

Dave, I reported to the gendarmes that my pump, tools, spares mileometer etc had been stolen at the swimming pool and it was exactly as you reported, I was there a couple of hours and I could hear similar time being wasted in all the other rooms, the guy seemed delighted to be able to spend an afternoon doing paperwork not fighting crime, he was very polished at it and it sounded like I do when I show new guests their apartment, it becomes robotic, I think there were 20 + pages printed each one needed two or more signatures from me, from him, then the whole dossier had to be taken to the commandant for his signature, they said it would be forwarded to the Tribunale at Peronne and they would contact me to say whether the matter would be pursued - FFS! [:-))]

 

Needless to say I was not contacted which was a relief but I still have a huge sheaf of papers just like I have from when my car was vandalised which if I was French I could put with all the others in a great big classeur to show proudly to any visitor and to keep in the hope that one day my sad face photo could be shown in the local paper with the dossier.

 

And yet when you go there to report a real crime, with evidence and the identity of the culprit they dont want to know, that would involve them is something other than paperwork, they keep a little book underneath the counter where they write down the minimum of détails to appease people and get rid of them, no doubt it would go missing if they were ever challenged.

 

I took in a quantity of cannabis that was on the dining table in one of the apartments, not even hidden, the renter had asked me to go in to change the TV, they did not want to know, told me to take it away and burn it, they refused point blank to recieve it and do so themselves and then tried to tell me that I had been breaking the law by going into my own property at the invitation of the renter, I explained that it wasn't his domicile, it was a location saisonnière no different to a hôtel room and they told me that even hôteliers are not allowed to go into the guests rooms, total crap of course but around here no-one ever questions them, I asked how does the daily room cleaning and bed changing get done in a hôtel then and they had no answer.

[dave21478]

When all the hooha about lack of stock and the delay of implementing the law was on the go and suddenly there was massive overstock of them everywhere, I was in Gifi buying some tat and the till staff were giving away breathalysers free to everyone, just shoving one or two into each carrier bag. I fluttered my eyelashes at the till girl and asked if I could have a few more. With a disinterested shrug she tipped the rest of the box into my bag, then grabbed another box from a pile under the till for those behind me....obviously told to just get rid of them.

They were still in date but only by a couple of months. I asked for more because we were having a party that night. As the evening progressed, I would bet our scientific accuracy dropped, but the results were clear....the devices were a load or rubbish with results all over the place, using two right after each other giving wildly differing results etc etc.

[mint]

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Never in 20 years plus.

Used to play in a pool team and was always out about late at night/early morning but never been stopped.

Scary place rural France at night. Lol.[/quote]

I really, really do not understand what you are on about rural France being a "scary" place[:P]

How can it be scary if, as you seem to think, gendarmes are swarming everywhere, stopping people and breathalysing them and asking questions?

Don't you think Paris might be more "scary" with armed police and soldiers everywhere and who knows whether some of them might be "trigger happy"?  Where terrorists kill people at will and seem able to go back and forth to Belgium without let or hindrance,

Of course, don't let your prejudice about "rural France" get in the way of looking at the facts that are out there for all to see, will you?

[idun]

And that was how the ladies in my old village would get 'done' because they would not have had...... ALL those things that you should have in your car....... or their seat belt on etc etc etc. Always something to 'do' someone for...... in this case, exclusively the women.

Our rural gendarmes were generally sot. Those we had to see for various things, were literally dimwits, I knew two bright ones. In fact even in the caserne in the local city they were also dimwits......

[mint]

[quote user="mint"][quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Never in 20 years plus.

Used to play in a pool team and was always out about late at night/early morning but never been stopped.

Scary place rural France at night. Lol.[/quote]

I really, really do not understand what you are on about rural France being a "scary" place[:P]

How can it be scary if, as you seem to think, gendarmes are swarming everywhere, stopping people and breathalysing them and asking questions?

Don't you think Paris might be more "scary" with armed police and soldiers everywhere and who knows whether some of them might be "trigger happy"?  Where terrorists kill people at will and seem able to go back and forth to Belgium without let or hindrance,

Of course, don't let your prejudice about "rural France" get in the way of looking at the facts that are out there for all to see, will you?

[/quote]

Quoting myself here, but you will hear the reason.

ALBF, I forgot to mention that I read that a glass wall will be/has been built around the Eiffel Tower to deter terrorists.

Now we have all heard you say that you get a splendid view of the Eiffel Tower from you flat.  Franchement, I would find it a mite more unsettling to see personnel, circling around a glass wall, armed with machine guns and live ammunition than I would a couple of local gendames toting a speed gun.

 

[woolybanana]

Presumably the guys toting the guns will be inside the glass wall?

Apparently it is to be known as Trump's Wall.

They say that the Mexicans, being good bible reading folk, have been practising their trumpet blowing skills!

[Judith]

Late to see this - only once. Had driven down to Barcelona to pick up hubby from airport and then back again (almost an all day trip), stopped to eat on motorway services once back in France about 9pm at night - snack ... stopped as we left the autoroute at Narbonne, for a breathalyser -- first time ever.  Even better, couldn't find enough puff to do the test (tired, and I do have asmatic tendencies, and after a stressful and sometimes difficult journey, no puff left - at which point I went in to English to explain that no way had I drunk anything, I wasn't that stupid with such a journey to make, have driven all the way to Barcelona and back in the day .... he gave up and let me go ... half an hour away from home and more than ready for my bed after a very long day, I was not prepared to be kind - all I wanted to do was get home .... no way would I ever drink when doing such a journey ... you need all your wits about you when driving in Spain!!!!!

[Chancer]

As someone that has always driven in the hours where in the UK the majority of road users would be normal non scary people driving to and from pubs, restaurants, even nightclubs and where here in France normal non scary people never even answer the door or phone, leave the shutters firmly down and would never go out except for a medical emergency I can attest that around here at least the roads during those hours are very very scary indeed, most drivers must be out of their heads on something judging by their (lack of) vehicle control, and that is from someone not at all phased by barrelling into the first corner of a circuit at 100mph with cold brakes touching doorhandles and front and rear bodywork with up to 30 other  relatively competent non scary drivers.

 

When the G-men do an alcohol test they blanket all the exits from town and stop everybody, 9 out of 10 will not be driving on home like I do, I see the same results when they set up a speed trap on my property, a high percentage have to be dragged away and the vehicles recovered, the killer for me was seeing them do it at the lycée on a Friday afternoon, mainly mums picking up, aged from 32 to say 48 and many of them also failing the breath test.

[alittlebitfrench]

@ minty

Bored kids. Drugs mostly...not alcohol. It's cheaper.

Rural France comes alive at night. The things you see !

That is why I tell UK families not to move rural in France. Certainly the main reason we moved in town/city. Fresh air and a view is not all that it is cracked up to be.

Kids are safer on a metro or a bus in a city than buzzing around rural villages/towns on a scooter with nothing to do.

If you think you are safe in the Dordogne...... Your not. lol.

I bet even Levens local town has more CCTV than commerce's.

[mint]

Au contraire, ALBF, our front door lock has been broken for about 2 years and we have never got round to getting in someone to repair it.

Only yesterday, OH and I went out to take doggie for a walk.  Between us thinking that the other one was going to shut the door, we in fact left it wide open for hours.

Not yet had our throats slit and not yet been rammed down by any vehicle.

Should a terrorist suddenly appear in our midst, I am pretty certain that some of the bigger chaps in our village would be wrestling him to the ground in no time.  After, of course, one of the women would had noticed something suspicious about a man sporting a big beard, dressed in a hoody and generally looking "unfamiliar"[:D]  He, or even she, would have stuck out a mile.

[idun]

I have never been so cavalier with home security, if home alone, and in the garden would have the doors locked. And that in a french village, we had crime of all sorts, the only thing we didn't have was murder as far as I know