Good old âConnexionâ - truly the Daily Mail of the internet when it comes to whipping up outrage by selective reporting 
I can sort of understand why this new âsmart roadâ technology is being run out, but not sure the old system was broken enough to warrant it.
I can envisage an increase in number plate cloning.
I think the point of it is to save money by not having to process cash taken at péage gates, and also to speed up traffic flow which péages do impede.
While there are bound to be people who find it inconvenient to have to remember to pay online or at an aire, in the long run they will get used to it I expect. Same as the moaning and groaning that occurred with the Dartford Crossing when that went ANPR.
Best option is to get a BipandGo tag of course, if you use autoroutes fairly often. First thing I did when I started coming to France regularly.
"This is the second time Iâve forgotten to pay after passing through. Outrageous. âŹ20 surcharge. Stop this scam.â
Tough 
Double the fine for stupidity.
However, one thing I did learn from the article was that while in the past it didnât really matter if you associated a registration with a badge and you could use the same badge in several cars, now because these autoroutes use ANPR for billing you need a badge for each reg.
Cant actually see whats wrong with slowing to 30 or a bit more and tags as we have several of now. Look at the huge profit raised by the Dartford crossing for those who forget its easy to see the business model.
if you have the BipAndGo app itâs possible to change the vehicle registration associated with the account. I guess if you regularly use more than one vehicle it will be simpler to just get extra tags, which are âŹ14 a pop from SANEF (plus âŹ10 P&P to the UK for us non-residents).
As I live under a stone and rarely watch the news, would some kind soul explain in words of one syllable how these free flow motorways work. I donât think we have any down our way. Are they easily recognisable? Do you just go online and enter your car reg and pay by card once you have passed a stretch?
Depends on the pĂ©age. Iâve never had to queue up very much but I would imagine some can get clogged up especially in August and around Paris.
Essentially itâs done by number plate recognition - instead of pĂ©age plazas they have gantries across the autoroute with cameras on them that record your registration.
There arenât very many stretches of âflux libreâ autorute yet - one near Metz, one in Allier on the A79 and now the A13-A14 Paris-Normandie route; no doubt others will follow.
More info here on how they work;
Then after your journey, if you donât have a Bippy tag (where you will get billed monthly for your use) you have 72 hours to pay either online or at a payment location:
So does the ANPR service link through automatically to tag providers to check if they are registered and then deduct the charge, previously the tag was scanned, but this is ANPR. These days âprogressâ just seems to cost us more in financial terms or using up our time for the benefit of others.
I thought (probably wronglyđ) that it was a combination of ANPR and tag tech, without the tag being registered to particular vehicles. If the tag is detected it beeps as normal, if not the ANPR takes over.
Yes. If you don;t have a tag then you need to pay online or at a Nirio location within 72 hours, if you donât pay in that time frame I think you get a demand sent to the address at which the vehicle is registered.
I donât think the tolls are any more expensive with flux libre, although there is a cost to buy a tag if you decide to do that; it is more convenient for motorists not having to slow down for a pĂ©age and sit in a queue behind British tourists who donât know how they work or whose UK credit card is rejected by the machine. 
Or motorcyclists like me who in the winter have to get half undressed to find a payment card. 
I like the BipandGo system as I just whizz through péages with my tag and get an itemised bill later for all my toll transactions. Much easier (especially on a motorbike) than fiddling with change or having to get a credit or debit card out of my pocket.
It seems that on the A79 route you can get a discount off tolls if you have a tag - I donât know if SANEF will be doing the same:
Thank you for the explanation Chris. I donât have any tags and just pay by card each time. If there are no booths, just overhead gantries, presumably there will be a notice somewhere telling you where to log in to pay? Is it the same payment site for all motorways or will each operator have their own payment system?
For the Paris-Normandie one you pay at www.SANEF.com
I donât know if they accept payments for the other flux libre routes⊠My guess would be that you pay Sanef for the autoroutes that they manage and the other guys elsewhere - the SANEF website only mentions the A13-A14 and A4.
I havenât travelled on a flux libre route myself but I would imagine there will be signs up to inform you how to pay.
Yes I think you are right - the gantries should detect a Bippy tag.
Yes, weâve had Bip&Go badges for years, over which time some have failed and been replaced and all were swapped for France, Spain, Portugal and Italy ones. Weâve currently three which are numbered eight, nine and ten on their website/app. Until recently I didnât pay any attention to what registrations were associated with which, even some of cars we no longer owned, because it didnât matter. But now Iâve cleaned all that up 
Me too - just went online and ordered a tag for my car, as my current one is linked to my motorcycle and I am bound to forget to change it over! Easier to have one per vehicle!
The badges have very limited range. I suspect the power needed to pick them up from a gantry at normal autoroute speed would have your hair standing up on end too
Sound like a bit of a nightmare if you are uninformed. If they can manage to send you a fine surely they could manage to send you an invoice in the first place? I guess like all things once you get used to the system it will work well â on the other hand this is France!