British family receives €3,000 bill after six months of motorway toll evasion in eastern France
A British family has been apprehended by gendarmes in eastern France after evading motorway tolls for approximately six months by manually lifting barriers at toll plazas. The family now faces a bill reportedly totaling €3,000.
The incident occurred at the Saint-Maurice-Colombier toll plaza on the A36 motorway, south of Montbéliard in the Doubs department. The A36, known as 'La Comtoise', is a 237-kilometer toll road that connects Beaune to the German border via Mulhouse, serving major cities including Dole, Besançon, Montbéliard, and Belfort, and providing access to Germany and Switzerland.
Gendarmes identified three vehicles belonging to the family through number-plate recognition cameras installed at the toll plaza. The motorway operator, Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR), alerted authorities after detecting the repeated violations. APRR operates a network of 2,323 kilometers of motorways in France and is the second-largest motorway group in the country and the fourth-largest in Europe.
The Doubs gendarmerie confirmed the incident took place but did not verify the reported €3,000 sum. The family had been lifting toll barriers manually each time they passed through, continuing this practice for around half a year before being stopped.
Legal consequences of toll evasion
Under French law, motorists who fail to pay tolls face significant penalties. When a violation is recorded, the motorway operator sends a payment notice that includes the unpaid toll plus a fixed €90 compensation charge. This means repeated failures to pay can rapidly accumulate substantial debt.
For habitual offenders, the consequences are more severe. Those who commit at least five toll evasions across a 12-month period can be charged with a criminal offence and face fines of up to €7,500, in addition to outstanding tolls that must be paid to the motorway operator.
The British family's case is not isolated. In a separate incident on the same A36 motorway, another motorist evaded tolls for months by tailgating vehicles through barriers. That driver was eventually identified through surveillance cameras and faced a bill of approximately €9,000.
France's extensive toll network
France operates the most extensive tolled motorway network in Europe, with approximately 9,000 kilometers of tolled autoroutes managed by multiple operators including VINCI Autoroutes, Sanef, APRR, ASF, and COFIROUTE.
The country is currently transitioning from traditional toll booths to barrier-free electronic tolling systems using overhead gantries and license plate recognition. The A79, A13, and A14 motorways have already implemented free-flow toll systems, which could help prevent manual barrier-lifting incidents in the future.
Annual toll rate increases took effect on February 1, 2026 across all major French motorway concessions, averaging 0.9% to 1.4% depending on the operator, in line with government direction to limit increases below inflation.
Motorists experiencing difficulty paying at a toll station are advised to use the assistance system at the toll barrier or contact the motorway operator directly, rather than attempting to pass without payment. Authorities have also warned about scammers exploiting France's new barrier-free motorway toll system by sending fake payment requests via text and email.
