Please take this seriously if you are visiting or passing through France or any French territory, as this law is not commonly known.

It is forbidden to carry any form of arm including any knife on your person or within reach, irrespective of legitimacy of intention.

This means ANY and ALL blades including Leatherman or similar multi tool with a cutting blade; Swiss army knife or similar; bush craft style knife and even a cutlery knife.

Most people think that a blade of less than 2 ins (50 mm) in a folding knife is acceptable in your pocket or nearby.( It is in some countries). Since the law changed in France in 2013 it's forbidden , and if you are seen carrying or using one in the street for whatever purpose by the Gendarmerie it will be confiscated immediately with no possibility of return. It has caused outrage amongst the elderly who still carry Opinel or Laguiole knives in their pockets for cutting bread at lunchtimes or for eating with in restaurants.

My advice is to bury any thing like a knife or sharp tool like a screwdriver deep in a container in your pannier or ''out of reach'' luggage. Tank bags are too close. Having said that, the Gendarmerie are not allowed to routinely inspect your luggage unless they have a legitimate concern and you have been cautioned. Having to give up an expensive Leatherman or similar you are using to adjust adjust something on your vehicle or even cutting a piece of rope at the side of the road is not a happy experience ( I can tell you!).

http://www.knivesandtools.fr/fr/ct/l...x-et-armes.htm

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-''It is better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction''. ( Herman Siu)
-'' Live life then give life '' (www.lltgl.org.uk)

Those guys in France.....

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3mountainsadventure

Psssst.... Zandi.... last time I went through...
Those guys in Greece
How are you old chap?

That's similar to the law in the UK, where there are strict laws on what you are allowed to carry (aimed at combating gang crime in cities, but affecting everybody). Useful info for visitors:

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Yes this is where i am living...And YES is not allowed (by the law) to do free camping but every one can...

But in France they are out of control...
1. no camera and radar POIs on GPS.
2. yellow vests or jackets for the motorcyclists.
3. no knives...

What is going on there?

Let us be!!!

P.S. You pass Halkidiki and you didnt send me a message....

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3mountainsadventure

Don't be sad! I took this picture quite a few years before I knew you coming back from Asia.
I just could not resist teasing you a bit!

Just for reference, I'm french and living in France and here is some precisions :

1. The law doesn't allow you to have a knife with you in your car. It have to be stored in the trunk of the car or in the luggage if on a motorbike. But in real life, I never had an issue carrying a leathermann at my belt. If you have it with your tools, you will be fine (My guess is that they wanted to keep your multi-tool for themselves)

2. It is not mandatory to wear a High-viz yellow jacket when riding. It is mandatory to have one in your luggage and wear it in case of accident, break down, etc... If you're on the road. If you don't have one when riding, they can't write you a ticket. if you don't wear one when needed (accident, breakdown...) they will write you a ticket.

3. Speed trap POI on GPS and Waze/coyote is legal in France. But you're not allowed to operate a cellphone/GPS while driving. (if the cops a particularly strict,a running engine can be considered as driving). Anyway, thay are not allowed to search your phone (see the Bonus point below).

BONUS 1 : French cops (Police and Gendarmerie) are NOT allowed to search you or your belonging except if you verbally allow them. They will ask you and you can say no. If you have nothing to hide, you can say yes, that will ease the paperwork checking...
Two exceptions :
-If they really want to go thru your stuffs, they have to call and bring an "officier de police judiciaire" (kind of a judge-cop). They will never go thru that (because there is a limited number of those guys) unless you really pissed them off or if you look particularly shady.
-The border patrol (Douaniers, they are the ones with the red stripe on the side of the pants) can do whatever the **** they want, they are allowed to search your luggage and you by themself, they don't need an "officier de police judiciaire". Don't try to be smarter than them, they can make your life a nightmare of unpacking, repacking and unpacking again, and repacking and so on...

In any case, corruption is really not common here. So don't even try to bribe the cops (it's punishable by law). And as anywhere, if you're polite, smiling and explaining a bit, they might just get interested in your trip and don't check anything at all (particularly the cops on motorbike)

Anyway, I'm sorry you had problem crossing my country, you weren't lucky I guess...better luck next time! (and now you know a bit more about your rights!)

Interesting that you should mention the Douaniers.

Whilst riding in France last month, I was stopped by three Douaniers who were all riding BMW motorcycles. I had just disembarked from a ferry from Ireland, and I guess they saw my Canadian licence plate and wondered if I was a legitimate tourist or riding an illegally imported motorcycle.

Anyway, within the first few minutes, I showed them my Canadian passport and explained that I had just got off the ferry. They asked to see the papers for the motorcycle (ownership, etc.), and I opened the pannier to get the papers out, but when they saw that I would have to dig through all sorts of stuff to find the papers, they said "don't bother, that's OK".

The three of them then spent the next 15 minutes chatting with me about where the best roads to ride in that area of France were. Eventually, they wished me well and headed off down the road.

Without a doubt, they were the most polite and friendly policemen I have ever encountered while travelling.

Michael

Thepolicemen and douaniers riding motorbikes are different kind indeed : they are policemen but more importantly they are passionate about riding. The exam before the course to become part of the motorbike police force is so hard, and only a few pass it. They are very very good riders and if they go the same way as you, they might ride with you! It happened to me to be waiting for at a red light with them downtown and after a quick chat, we rode together for ten minutes, I had my personal escort, and we've been riding 100kph in the city while following one of them. There is nothing to be worried about with them if you're a legitimate rider Envoyé de mon G3116 en utilisant Tapatalk

I live my whole life on the french boarder. (except when I´m travelling ;-))
Every year in summer you can expect a new crazy laws. The alcotest you have to carry in your vehicle, the reflective stickers...etc...etc. The french people give a sh..about those rules, and the following summer noone talks about it anymore.
The flics are serious about unlawful things, but are the nicest people if it´s clear you´re o.k.
I was riding down a straight road, and I was at 160 km/h, when I saw a moto flic aiming at me with a laser. Suddenly he lowered the laser and saluted when I passed.
I was standing near a flic who had issues with some cloth. I took out my knive and gave him a hand, no problem about the knive. And whenever I eat I use my knive, in plain sight of the police. It all depends on the situation. Knives as tools are tolerated, knives as weapons not. So it depends on the situation. If the police can identify you as a regular rider on a trip, and you don´t carry a knive as a weapon...no problem. This applies also for Germany. You can carry a knive up to 13 cm blade length, if it´s not a weapon (butterfly knive, Kris, combat knive..., folding knives are allowed if you need two hands to open it, blade length also 13 cm. And it depends where you are. On a picnic spot oon the side of the road eating with your knive...no problem, going to bar with the same knive...big problem. In Berlin on the street...big problem, having a fight and a knive is found on you, big problem it´s armed encounter...even it wasn´t even taken out of your pocket.
So relax about this, be decent and everything will be alright. I carry a knive on my belt since I´m 13 years old. And never had any issues, but times changed, I would never carry it in England, as there are crazy kids killing each other with knives...

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