Exactly, no matter how remotely we park, people always congregate around us.
OMG this has always driven me CRAZY, parking spaces are SO tiny and have you ever tried lifting out a baby capsule in a normal parking bay? Sometimes impossible, sometimes involves hiting the car next door and I think 50% of people in the family parks are not (I check for seats!). I wish when we got back here with a new born 6 years ago my french was the level it is now! I go tos frustrated not being able to make a comment to those I saw sans enfants! When my first 2 were born (here) 20 and 15 years ago there was no such thing as parent / family parks in France! 
so at least they are here now!
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I have no particular car parking preferences other than always making for the poshest car in the belief that they will be much more careful not to bang mine with doors if they return before me. 
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Good idea David! I don’t seem to have much problem with door dents but I have recently found my car very badly scratched (and actually deformed) on the front (and later rear) corner - clearly someone turning into or out of a car parking space and clipping my car. Grrrr… not sure how much this is going to cost me…
Ah that raises another point @AngelaR , the propensity for many people to nose into parking spaces instead of backing in.
Nosing in you can’t see the arc of your front corners. so much easier to make contact with another car, whereas reversing in you have the advantage of a good view through your wing mirrors. whether you use them or not is another thing. Also, nosing in means dragging the rear of the car across the corner, whereas reversing allows the rear to be placed accurately while the nose, following, can be swung by the steering wheels, into a straight line.
A common lorry drivers’ mantra is ‘always face the exit’. It is very rare at a crowded routiers’ parking not to see a row of cab fronts. The exceptions are usually if a latecomer is forced to park between 2 frigos (fridge engine at front of trailer) and will nose in so he/she can sleep at the other end in relative peace and quiet. 
Another reason is that, as he/she is one of the last arrivers, he/she will in all likelihood be amongst the last leavers and therefore have more room for the trickier reverse out.
I hear you but I do a weeks shopping at a time for a large family and the thought of having to carry each bag to the boot not facing out gives me a turn
IJ agree though, much easier to do it that way.
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Good point, and I must admit to sometimes choosing a single drive through spot for that reason, but now that I have stopped dog journeys and dismantled my cages, I put the shopping in the front passenger footwell and on the seat if Jules is with me.
I noticed that doctors in France have special parking badges to one of the local doctors park every day in a handicap parking bay with a doctors badge
Additionally, by reversing into a parking space means that one does not have to reverse (with limited visibility) into a lane which other cars may be using.
And aide soignants…
In the UK displaying a BMA caduceus used to allow you to park where er you liked, and made the traffic wardens stay away. And, during the last petrol crisis, got you to the front of the queue at petrol stations.
Just normal parking people have trouble doing parking on sidewalks seems to the norm don’t now if it’s illegal France if it was the local councils whold be heaving in money from tickets every day here
The Green Bay’s are really popular around here with brits in Chelsea tractors
Interesting thing cars have become allot bigger the last 15 years but the parking bays have not kept up
I thought it was called a blue badge that’s why I put in the headline
Very good point! I also notice a big difference in size when I go to my more local town v bigger towns / cities.
Parking garages are the nightmare for me incredibly small spaces in France
I’ve seen lots of houses with douches italiennes and didn’t know why!
My daughter has a “blue badge” (always known as blue badge in uk) /carte mobilite inclusion.
After her mdph assessment, we were sent a letter to apply and it arrived a couple of weeks after doing the online form.
The mdph application took 16 months from first visit to mdph to a decision due to staff retirements and then covid!
Anyway, her carte mobilité is permanent and is her first one.
It must depend on whether it’s a permanent disability or the level of disability as to how long they’re issued for looking at earlier responses.
I will just point out that we wouldn’t have an issue if the spaces are further away from the doors, but we do need bigger spaces to get her wheelchair in and out of the boot and then open the door wide enough to lift her from the car to the chair.
Perhaps there should be two lots of disabled bays - standard size close to doors for those who struggle to walk and large bays for those who need wheelchair access?
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I suspect new “normes” about this are coming into play.
This Summer… I noticed that our Disabled Parking Bays were repainted. The space itself was enlarged and blue hatched areas were added on both sides…
which allows the necessary extra space for wheelchairs etc.
Hopefully these new “sizes” will be found all over France before too long.
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Actually inspired by Roman bathrooms. Just don’t confuse it with a douche écossaise 
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Even worse in Spain, just awful - German multistorey carparks are the best.
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