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I got a parking ticket for apparently parking my rental car in the wrong place in front of my hotel. But as I had to leave quickly to get my flight back home, I was unable to pay it in France.

I figure that I should have bought a stamp in a French shop and thrown the ticket into a postbox. But how should I do that from abroad? Is there a way to pay it online?

Edit: I don't have a "fancy" ticket that could be paid online

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Not sure about it, but try to contact a french consulate. – mouviciel Nov 16 '12 at 5:58
one thing worth noting, French fines increase with time. So if you pay it, don't wait for too long – Vince Nov 16 '12 at 7:19
just to make it clear: I am in germany; and I don't have ticket that can be payed for online. – jefrey2912 Nov 16 '12 at 11:41

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

The French system has a weak point when it goes to collecting fines past the borders, at least for traffic offenses. Even speeding tickets do not follow through when foreigners get back to their home countries, unless arrested by police directly. At least for now, since the government is in the process of partnering with other EU countries to be able to claim speeding fines to foreign drivers. I don't know if parking violations are concerned, as they are relatively small fish.

The aformentioned advice is not here to say it's okay to break driving laws, anyway.

It is the rental agency that you should rather deal with. Once they get the ticket registered with your car, they can forward the fine to your credit card with additional processing fees. Therefore, I would advise you to call them, tell them about the ticket and ask them what to do next.

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are you sure they're still in the process? Theoretically, other EU residents should already receive the fine in their home country (maybe since beginning of 2012). Maybe some source is needed to confirm this. – Vince Nov 16 '12 at 10:31
4  
Here is a press release regarding the EU Directive concerning the sharing of registration data across EU borders. It also lists the offences covered by the directive: speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, non-use of a seat belt and failing to stop at a red light. EU countries (excluding UK, Ireland and Denmark) have two years to implement the Directive intheir national laws. consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/… – Nicholas Nov 16 '12 at 11:33
up vote 3 down vote

Two years ago I got a parking ticket while I was in France. The car was mine, not rented.
When I came back home (in Italy), I simply put the ticket receipt and a check for the owed amount in an envelope and I sent it to the address I found on the ticket itself.
I have not heard anything more about the ticket, so I suppose the French police cashed the check and everything went ok.

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