A driver caught going at 200km/h in northern France over the weekend could be facing jail under France’s tough new speeding law.
Police in northern France reported that over the weekend a 29-year-old local man was clocked travelling at 209km/h on the A4 motorway, while a 23-year-old local man was caught doing 198km/h.
Since December 2025, drivers caught going more than 50km/h above the speed limit can be punished by up to three months in jail, a €3,750 fine, and a criminal record.
Authorities in Seine-et-Marne – part of the greater Paris region – told French media that on Saturday evening at Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames, close to Crécy-la-Chapelle, they clocked an Audi A3 going 209km/h – the driver has had his licence suspended and his car impounded, with the possibility of court action to follow.
Earlier on Saturday, in the same location, a Volkswagen Sirocco was spotted at 193km/h – the speed limit on the autoroute is 130km/h, or 110km/h in bad weather.
The new law came into effect on December 29th 2025, making excess speed a délit (a lower-level criminal offence), rather than an infraction punished by a fine, as previously.
Drivers clocked going more than 50km/h above the speed limit can now be jailed and fined – in addition the délit will be entered on their criminal record.
The courts also have the power to confiscate their vehicle for up to three years and ban them from driving for five years, with the requirement to attend a speed awareness course.
An increasing number of local authorities are also imposing short-term licence suspensions on drivers caught using their phone at the wheel.
The Préfet of the Seine-et-Marne département, Pierre Ory, said that speeding offences are on the rise and on average the département suspends around 4,500 driving licences per year. “From January 1st 2026 to mid-May, we’ve already reached 1,583.”
Captain Vincent Stegiani of the local roads policing unit said: “Despite the return of fine weather, we urge people to ease off the accelerator on the roads to avoid causing accidents and putting their own lives and those of others at risk.”
In 2025, 67 people died on the roads of Seine-et-Marne.
