French Number Plate Changes Unpopular

In 2009, the French government announced plans to change the number plate system in France to one that should make owning a car much simpler. However, they underestimated the powerful attachment the French have to their roots and where they come from, resulting in many French motorists being angry.

The old system insisted that car owners change their number plates every time they moved addresses to a different French ‘departement’ or government administrative division, first created following the 1789 French revolution.

The new arrangement means the licence plate will remain with the vehicle, even if the owner changes address, which has resulted in the new number plates no longer displaying the ‘departement’ numbers, infuriating motorists in France.

The original version of the new scheme would see the ‘departement’ number become a non-compulsory add-on, allowing drivers from certain areas to become less identifiable on the roads.

A poll amongst French motorists found that 71 per cent disapproved of the numbers becoming optional, with many fearing it would spell the beginning of the end of the individual administrative ‘departements’.

The French government eventually backed down following a campaign called ‘never without my departement’ being launched, with a spokesperson for the campaign saying, “It’s a matter of roots, of attachment to a land.”