Drop in French radar fine income in 2024 after damage to cameras
Fixed cameras generated 鈧�76 million less revenue than in 2023
Many were damaged during farmer protests throughout the year
Alexandre Prevot/Shutterstock
Income collected in France from fines originating from fixed speed cameras dropped by 鈧�76 million between 2023 and 2024, as many cameras were damaged or decommissioned.
In 2024, fixed speed cameras generated 鈧�889 million in income, down from 鈧�965 million in 2023.
Out of this, 鈧�651 million came from fixed fines, and a further 鈧�231 million in increased fines (due to original penalties not being paid on time).
This excludes fines collected from mobile speed cameras such as those operated by police officers or private radar vehicles.
At the same time, more than 11.7 million points were deducted from French driving licences (as a reminder, in France points are lost from licences rather than added to them) due to road offences.
The information comes from a Ministry of Finance report on road costs in 2024, part of information used for drafting the 2026 budget.
The report shows that a 7% drop in available speed cameras (from 88% to 81%) in 2024 was in part responsible for the lower sum collected.
Many of the speed cameras taken out of action were decommissioned due to damage sustained during protests, notably those from agriculture workers.
If caught damaging a speed camera, a person risks fines of up to 鈧�75,000 and five years in prison, increasing to 鈧�100,000 and seven years if wearing a mask or being part of a group.
Over two million fewer fines issued
There were 14.2 million fines issued from fixed speed cameras in 2024, down from 16.8 million in 2023.
The vast majority of these last year (13.9 million) were for speeding, although more than 270,000 were a result of drivers running red lights.
In 2024, some 2,700 speed cameras were operating in France.
Four-fifths of these were located on national or departmental roads, with the remainder on motorways (14%) or municipal roads (6%).
That year, there were also 110 private radar cars operating across 55 departments.
By the end of 2025, these will have greatly increased, with private radar vehicles operating in all mainland departments outside of the Corsica and 脦le-de-France regions.
Where does money go?
The report also details how the money raised from fines is used.
The funds are allocated between several groups.
The largest portion goes to the road safety delegation (d茅l茅gation 脿 la s茅curit茅 routi猫re) that looks to reduce accidents on the French road network.
It received 鈧�340 million of 2024鈥檚 income from fines, with part of this going back into repairing or replacing cameras.
鈧�194 million was given to local authorities, and a further 鈧�122 million to the Infrastructure Financing Agency (Agence de financement des infrastructures de transport de France).
A fixed amount of 鈧�26 million is allocated to public health authorities for tending to road-related injuries, in place since 2019.
鈥淭his allocation corresponds to the entire surplus of revenue from automated enforcement collected by the State, linked to the lowering of maximum speeds to 80 km/h on two-way roads without a central divider,鈥� says the report, referencing the controversial law from 2018 which has now been partially overturned in many departments.
