What is the current position with carrying a breathalyser in France?
Allan Doyle reported " I've read several reports about this new law in France, including in Safety Fast!. Anyway, the ADAC (German Auto Association) have now reported that this very silly law has now been repealed. There is no need to carry a breathalyser on continental trips. It looks as if the new government in France has seen the light of day!" But Geoff King, a V8 member living in France, reports it's not that simple - carrying a breathalyser is still required. So it's a muddle but not so with another point raised by Geoff - speed cameras and unidentified police cars playing a hard game on speeding in France!

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Geoff King, who now lives in France, responded saying "there has not been anything widely published in France, unless I’ve missed it, but the most recent information I have is from February 2013 when it was announced by Manuel Valls, France's Minister of the Interior, that motorists are still required by law to carry the breathalyser kit - but, confusingly, there will no longer be a fine if they fail to produce one on demand."

Geoff adds "a British friend who was stopped by the Police at 2am (after attending my daughter’s wedding last year) was breathalysed and found to be slightly over the limit after easily passing the NF approved test he carried. The police said the kits were a waste of time and they ignored them but he escaped prosecution – he was right on the line apparently. I will continue to carry the kits I bought last year but I won’t be buying replacements." More
A news item on the website "The Local" (a website providing France's news in English) on 25th January 2013 said "Interior Minister Manuel Valls revealed the law, which was aimed at tackling drink-driving, has been put on the back-burner for the foreseeable future. The regulation, which also affected foreigners driving in France, came into force on 1st July 2012, but because of numerous hick- ups it has never actually been applied by the authorities. Drivers found it hard to get their hands on the disposable test kits, with stores across the country frequently forced to put up 'out-of-stock' notices. Suppliers could not keep up with the demand. Questions were also raised over the reliability of the breathalysers, known as Ethylotests in France, and whether the results were accurate. Valls said he wanted to wait until he receives a report from France’s road safety authority, the Conseil national de la sécurité routière, before making a final decision. A further announcement is expected to be made in February. The law, which was brought in to try and cut the number of road deaths linked to drink driving, required all drivers to carry an unused breathalyser test in their cars, either disposable ones or a reusable digital device. Any motorists caught flouting the law were subject to an €11 fine. The interior minister also announced that the number of road deaths in France dropped by 8% in 2012. The figure of 3.645 fatalities represented the lowest number of deaths since 1948, the year authorities began gathering the data."
The Local website

Speed cameras and unmarked police cars in France
On this topic, Geoff King adds "of much more concern for me is the stealth tax generated by speed cameras here, there are very few warning signs and the local ones that I know the location of are certainly not there for safety reasons. There are also some 400 unmarked police cars with mobile speed cameras and, although there are sites where the registration numbers are listed unless you have a photographic memory and a sharp eye, the first you will know is a blue light flashing in your face. Take particular care on 50kph limited motorway slip roads, through tunnels and in underpasses. When you are concentrating on the traffic around you and are being followed by a coach or truck less than a car's length behind you, it is very easy to inadvertently exceed the limit. And yes, I have been caught speeding for the first time in 45 years of driving. I was not in my car and I still have a British driving licence so I have escaped prosecution – so far."