Words About Things

Hello and welcome to lesson 1 of How to Drive like a Parisian, during today’s session I will explain some of the basics of French driving from choosing your vehicle to use of the horn. Pay attention (or don’t) and you’ll be whizzing around the Arch de Triumph with gay abandon before you know it!

Step 1: Choosing your vehicle.

This isn’t as straight forward as you might think, not everybody drives a Citroen. Perhaps you might like a scooter (with or without motor) or a rental bike from the Vélib scheme. Other choices include a three wheeled scooter or a rental car if you aren’t bothered about getting your deposit back.

Step 2: Use of lanes.

Only kidding, there aren’t many lane marking in Paris and those which do exist are to be ignored – don’t let the government tell you where to drive!

Step 3: Pedestrian crossings.

Red lights at pedestrian crossings in Paris are entirely optional, if a person who is crossing looks particularly determined you might like to stop. If there are no pedestrians on the crossing keep going. In fact keep going is a good general rule, stopping is what the English do.

Step 4: Parking.

Any Parisian driver should be able to park his or her car in a space the exact same length as the vehicle. This skill cannot be taught it is just something the French are born with, the main thing to remember is not to hesitate or take any notice of the slack jawed tourists staring on in amazement.

Running a car can be quite a drain on your finances. As well as road tax, petrol and a yearly m.o.t there are always the unexpected costs that appear at inopportune moments. I drove off from the petrol station last month wondering what was making a noise on the roof of the car, it turned out to be the petrol cap which was surprisingly expensive to replace.

A recent survey has shown that 61% of car owners in Britain have changed their driving habits in order to save money. Whilst we love having our own cars many are deciding to cut down on journeys and a third of those asked had started car sharing. 95% said that they would walk more if they gave up their cars although that seems like a strange question to me, who are the 5% who wouldn’t walk any more without a car?

The rise in car hire by the hour schemes has meant that some have chosen to not own a car but to lease one when needed. This option is best suited to those in cities who can rely on public transport day-to-day, in rural areas not having a car can leave people reliant on sparse bus services. Car sharing is also a good way of keeping down costs as well as reducing pollution.

The average driver in Britain spends around £106 per month keeping their car running, this is a little less than the European average of £126. This figure is sure to rise as petrol prices increase and local governments try to dissuade people from using their cars by increasing tolls and parking costs.

C’était un rendez-vous is a1976 short film by Claude Lelouch that was shot in one take using a camera mounted on a car’s bumper. It is just over 8 minutes long (the length of a reel of 35mm film) and features some pretty nifty driving through the streets of Paris at well over 100mph. Lelouch was arrested after the film’s release although at the time he claimed it was not him driving the car but a F1 driver he knew. During the film the driver mounts the curb and drives the wrong way down one way streets as the sun rises over Paris. The car used was a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL although the poster for the film shows a Ferrari.

The film caused some controversy due to the reckless nature of the driving involved. The streets were not closed and it was more through luck than judgment that no pedestrians got hurt. It has been remastered and release on DVD but you can see it in it’s entirety below.