@fabian
ISTR a UK licence holder cannot drive a French registered car (other than a hire car or maybe a VSP) in France.
The reciprocity is true in the UK.
Not sure if hire would be possible with just the licence summary document from the DVLA, presumably he has this anyway (he’d need to know his driver number - but I’d suggest that everyone should know or have a record of that anyway). If he lost the summary along with the other stuff and knows his driver number you can print it out for him, then see if there’s anywhere that hires cars locally which will take pity.
To answer @David_Spardo’s question in the general case VSP hire seems to be possible but not sure if this is pertinent to your neck of the woods.
Disclaimer - I just put “location VSP” into Google.
@billybutcher …does this mean a person from uk staying/holdaying with friends here cannot use their car?
@Fabien should be able to confirm but yes, as far as I know - it’s come up in previous discussions.
It’s also illegal for a French person to drive a UK registered car in France.
As its the car thats insured I thought it was legal for "foreign " visitors to use a french registered car (that they don’t own).
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Hmm thinking about it I can’t be right, can I?
We’ve also discussed whether it is possible for a UK 2nd home owner to buy and register a car to their French address. Mark Rimmer used to be adamant that it wasn’t legal even if often done, however I spotted this:
So if that’s possible it must be possible for a non French visitor to drive a French registered car in France.
More discussion (maybe not enlightenment) on the forum here:
I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around that a French resident can’t drive a UK registered car in France and, similarly, a UK resident can’t drive a French registered car in the UK.
I think you’re probably right.
Insurance permitting, of course.
Correct! The restriction is on residency and not the licence you hold.
Thanks for tagging me along, @billybutcher. To ensure everyone is on the same page, I’ll list the different scenarios/options below:
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As long as someone has a valid driver’s license in France, they can drive almost any vehicle that is registered and insured in France. This is the default mode for French car insurance, where “anyone can drive.” However, in case of a claim, the owner’s No Claims Discount (NCD) takes the hit, and the excess might vary.
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It is also legal to drive (and potentially insure, although it’s often more challenging, except with us, of course) a foreign-registered vehicle in France. However, it is illegal not to initiate the import process if that vehicle stays or will stay in France for more than 90 consecutive days.
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Buying a vehicle in France is not permitted for those who are not permanent residents in France. However, this is somewhat of a gray area, and there is a certain degree of tolerance. Nonetheless, this can explain why a US citizen with a second home in France and a vehicle there may encounter difficulties when trying to find insurance.
I hope this clarifies things for everyone.
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@fabien
I tagged you earlier, David’s son is visiting him just now, he has a UK licence which has been stolen while in France, is he precluded from hiring a car here or driving his father’s car in France while staying and waiting for a replacement licence arriving from the UK, I just wondered if you could help clarify.
Seems clear thanks to Fabien above.
David’s son can drive David’s car in France but if he prangs it, it’s David’s insurance that will take the hit.
So David would have to pay the excess, his No Claims Bonus is also affected… and I would guess his next year’s insurance premium goes up.
I love French insurance rules even though I’ve still not found a banger to buy and insure here yet !
Yes, but I suggest that anyone reading this checks also the detail with the boys in dark blue as it does not work in reverse. EU law states very clearly that a citizen, resident, may not drive a foreign car in their country of residence.
In tDavid’s case - his son may drive his car, but he cannot drive his son’s car…
His son stays In Macao, so he won’t be driving it 
joking 
I have believed for many years, because this has come up on other forums, that a non resident can’t drive a French registered car in France. However, my English friend, UK resident, whose 2nd home in our village my son is renting for his holiday, does have a French registered car which he leaves here for his own use when here, and it was done legally. He even offered it to my son while he was here but I vetoed it, mainly because of the insurance situation, and BTW, I will not be allowing my son to read this forum because he has already asked to use my 2nd car. 
But joking apart, that isn’t the issue here. It is illegal to drive anything which requires a licence in France without carrying a valid driver’s licence. As his licence has been stolen driving anybody’s car here would be illegal. Hence my question about him driving a hired VSP. There is no exemption in the English sense to leave your licence at home and produce it to a police station of your choice within 5 days.
The same goes for insurance, you don’t need to carry it in England as far as I know as long as you can produce it within 5 days, hence the term ‘a producer’. But that is an offence in France as I know to my cost. I once inserted the old windscreen ticket and document in my car by mistake and was stopped just down the road. I had to produce it the next day at the Brigade in the next town but still had to pay a €30 something fine as well.
Anyway, the good news I have just received is that his replacement licence has arrived this morning at ‘his’ UK addresse and his Mum has put it straight back in the post to my address here. It is a chance I admit, but if it takes the same time to get here as it did to get there, it will be here by Monday. I know that doesn’t seem like much but it does mean that I could run him alone without the kids scrunched on the floor in the back to Angouleme or Limoges to hire a car, rather than having to run the whole family to either of those places on Wednesday. If it doesn’t arrive in time, tant pis, nothing lost and I will just post it on to Macao because he is not intending to drive in England.
Edit: That link of @billybutcher’s is for the Grande Est, Strasbourg, but I have done a similar search and found a VSP hire near Perigueux, a bit far from here but something useful to remember for the future. Thomas Automobiles, St. Laurent-sur-Manoire(24).
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? I’ve been driving a Fr registered car with a UK licence for over 20 years.
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But while a French resident? It is the residency which is the issue, not the origin of the permis.
Yes I’m a Fr resident and also a Fr national.
As have I.
I don’t think nationality comes into it, if I didn’t have to change my UK licence for a French one because of the PL (HGV) entitlement I could have driven for years once I became resident, on my UK one…
If I hadn’t had any speeding fines that is,