page_title: Transport in France
section_title: Roads
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in France / Roads
caption_attribution_description: D976 crossing A7 autoroute near Orange
context_page_description: Transportation in France relies on one of the densest networks in the world with 146 km of road and 6.2 km of rail lines per 100 km². It is built as a web with Paris at its center. Rail, road, air and water are all widely developed forms of transportation in France.
context_section_description: There are ~950,000 km (590,000 mi) of roads in France. The French motorway network or autoroute system consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities and in parts of the north. It is a network totalling 12,000 km (7,500 mi) of motorways operated by private companies such as Sanef (Société des autoroutes du Nord et de l'Est de la France). It has the 8th largest highway network in the world, trailing only the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Canada, Spain and Germany.
  France currently counts 30,500 km of major trunk roads or routes nationales and state-owned motorways. By way of comparison, the routes départementales cover a total distance of 365,000 km. The main trunk road network reflects the centralising tradition of France: the majority of them leave the gates of Paris. Indeed, trunk roads begin on the parvis of Notre-Dame of Paris at Kilometre Zero. To ensure an effective road network, new roads not serving Paris were created.
  France is believed to be the most car-dependent country in Europe. In 2005, 937 billion vehicle kilometres were travelled in France (85% by car).
  In order to overcome this dependence, in France and many more countries the long distance coaches' market has been liberalised. Since 2015, with the law Macron, the market has exploded: the increasing demand lead to a higher supply of bus services and coach companies.
caption: A7 autoroute near Orange
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