No. it applies to any non-French licence holder, which is why the requirement is not printed on every ticket.
This is due to the fact that a vast majority of infringement notices go to those who are already French licence holders so do not need to change.
It is not uncommon (at least in this area) for local gendarmes to make a personal visit to remind foreign licence holders of this requirement.
While the law most definitely exists, enforcement may be a little lax. Be grateful rather than defiant & don’t dismiss the Government requirements as “myth” just because you have not been caught.
Having a crash will not require a licence change (you don’t say if you were convicted of any points deducting offence) but you were when caught for speeding for which points will be deducted. The stroppy gendarme then told you that you will now need to change so how is that discretionary? Giving you a ticket might be but once issued & points awarded, that’s it.
Problem is, once incorrect information is put “out there” it can quickly become accepted as fact, given out repeatedly by “man-in-bar” types & the like
Sometimes there is little harm (beyond making some processes much more difficult & expensive) but at other times it can put the follower & possibly others in extreme legal poo.
Tim17 is usually quite careful in his posts as most of us try to be. We can all no doubt give anecdotal examples where certain requirements have been overlooked but when someone makes an error it is only fair to correct it. The next person who does not change his licence may well get a visit & what a shock that would be for them.
If giving out correct advice is considered “holier than thou” perhaps I should stop doing it & let people spend thousands on cars they cannot register, apply for documents not required etc. Gives me a lot more free time.
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There are many posts on here that are incorrect, but depending on who posts them go unchallanged . These posters tend to ,by shear quantity of posts, be believed and considered to be “unattackable” .
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Ah yes sorry, I did get points for the crash so should have been instructed to change it. The nice gendarme saw that I was shocked and maybe he wasn’t convinced that it was entirely my fault ? Who knows ? In any case he used his discretion 
None of that explains the message I’ve highlighted that has been on every Avis I have ever received, I accept that nearly all infractions are committed by French licence holders but why on earth print something that is downright misleading?
I don’t feel in any way ‘defiant’ just bloody confused.
Butthe avis is sent to the person or company that owns the car - it’s not necessarily the person who was driving the car at the time 
In the case of company cars/vans, you have to send everything back declaring who was driving at the time and then a new avis is issued - failure to do that and you get fined for not declaring!
Here is the legislation regarding the requirement to change your licence should you incur points. The text below is noted as EU licences, so many of you should have changed before, but as the UK agreement follows the EU route for licences the legislation applies still. However it does apply to anyone who has their normal residence in France (185 days).
There is nothing on the infraction to say this as it’s a French fine, why would they know you had a foreign licence with a French car.
It is your responsibilty to change, you do not get notification to change unless stopped by physical Gendarmes and then you can expect a frequent visit to see if you’ve got your licence yet.
This is what I have posted in my Applying for a French Driving Licence group.
C1.1 - INFRACTIONS LEGAL LEGISLATION
There are often posts relating to whether someone should exchange their licence due to an infraction where any points are to be deducted.
This comment of “no just pay the fine” often appears, however it has always been a legal requirement to exchange your licence if you are resident here.
I have attached the Code de la Route, Article R222-2, (www.legifrance.gouv.fr) although this is only dated from 03/11/2017, from this date it is absolutely clear that you are required to change.
The UK* agreement is the same as holding an EU licence.
Text:
ARTICLE R222-2
VERSION EN VIGUEUR DEPUIS LE 05 NOVEMBRE 2017
Modifié par Décret n°2017-1523 du 3 novembre 2017 - art. 6
Toute personne ayant sa résidence normale en France, titulaire d’un permis de conduire national délivré par un Etat membre de l’Union européenne ou d’un autre Etat partie à l’accord sur l’Espace économique européen, en cours de validité dans cet Etat, peut, sans qu’elle soit tenue de subir les examens prévus au premier alinéa de l’article D. 221-3, l’échanger contre le permis de conduire français selon les modalités définies par arrêté du ministre chargé de la sécurité routière, après avis du ministre de la justice et du ministre chargé des affaires étrangères.
L’échange d’un tel permis de conduire contre le permis français est obligatoire lorsque son titulaire a commis, sur le territoire français, une infraction au présent code ayant entraîné une mesure de restriction, de suspension, de retrait du droit de conduire ou de retrait de points. Cet échange doit être effectué selon les modalités définies par l’arrêté prévu à l’alinéa précédent, aux fins d’appliquer les mesures précitées.
Le fait de ne pas effectuer l’échange de son permis de conduire dans le cas prévu à l’alinéa précédent est puni de l’amende prévue pour les contraventions de la quatrième classe.
English Translation
ARTICLE R222-2
VERSION IN FORCE SINCE 05 NOVEMBER 2017
Amended by Decree No. 2017-1523 of 3 November 2017 - art. 6
Any person having his normal residence in France, holding a national driving licence issued by a Member State of the European Union or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, valid in that State, (meaning any reciprocal agreement of exchanges) may, without being required to undergo the examinations provided for in the first paragraph of Article D. 221-3 , exchange it for the French driving licence in accordance with the procedures defined by order of the Minister for Road Safety, after consulting the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The exchange of such a driving licence for the French licence is compulsory when its holder has committed, on French territory, an infringement of this Code which has resulted in a measure of restriction, suspension, withdrawal of the right to drive or withdrawal of points. This exchange must be carried out according to the modalities defined by the decree provided for in the preceding paragraph, for the purpose of applying the aforementioned measures.
Failure to exchange one’s driving licence in the case provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be punishable by the fine provided for in the fourth class of contraventions.
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I’ve posted and tagged you.
Relevant question to this post, my OH’s uk licence is valid until 2027 and cannot be exchanged until six months prior to uk expiry.
If it is lost how would she get a replacement licence as not now having a uk address (until recently we had a flat there but it would have been " naughty" to have used that) one from UK is not possible. So she would have to get one via ANTS, but given the 2027 date would they give here one or just quote the 6 month rule. And of course she wouldn’t have one (UK) to send in which is a requirement when doing a uk》French exchange.
You can exchange a lost licence as DVLA still have the details so you can get the code etc. Whether you can actually drive in the meantime I don’ know!
Try not to lose it!
You apply to exchange a lost licence, but be aware as the holder of a foreign licence you are required to hold a physical licence to drive in France.
The acknowledgement received by email to say that the attestation is valid for 2 months is NOT for a foreign licence this is only applicable if you have lost a French licence.
Read and understood thank you.
Perhaps you could clear up a connected issue please, is my French car/van insurance invalid as I have a UK drivers licence registered to a UK address?
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No it’s not invalid. It’s irrelevant what is on your UK licence with regard to the address if you are no longer domiciled in the UK, there is also no such thing as an admin address in the UK for a UK licence.
If you travel back to the UK then you must carry evidence of no longer living there and resident in France.
The failure to update a UK address is ONLY relevant to a UK resident.
Thank you, that is another misconception put right.
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Thanks for reply but I’m no clearer…if the uk licence is lost (and no Frevch licence yet held) what would we do as having no uk address to even get a replacent sent to…even if DVLA would issue a replacement. Would ANTS issue a French one on the premise that the (still valid for France) Uk licence would not be replaced by UK?
In a word, yes, Bur you couldn’t drive from the moment you lost the UK one until you had received a French one and that can take many months.
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You can exchange a U.K. licence even if you have lost it but you select the box to say lost on the application.
By declaring it lost it means you have no physical licence to submit like you did when you sent your licence in.
But when it comes to actually changing your UK licence, don’t you need to send it off? And then does that also mean you can’t drive whilst waiting for the French replacement to arrive? Or is ‘normal replacement’ alot quicker than ‘lost replacement’?
If you are doing a standard exchange you get an attestation that allows you to drive (in France only). And you only send in your physical card at the end of the process anyway, so only need attestation for a few weeks.
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