Road accident in France: how victims are compensated, including foreign visitors

Compensation for road accident victims in France is governed by law no. 85-677 of 5 July 1985, known as the loi Badinter (approximate translation: "Badinter law", after the minister who introduced it). It applies as soon as a land motor vehicle is involved in the accident: a car, a motorbike, a scooter, a lorry or a coach. Trains and trams running on their own tracks are excluded.

You do not have to prove that the driver was at fault. It is enough that the vehicle was involved. The question then becomes how far you are entitled to compensation, which depends on your situation at the time of the accident:

• You were not driving (pedestrian, cyclist, passenger): your personal injury is compensated, unless you committed an inexcusable fault that was the sole cause of the accident. If you were under 16 or over 70, or held a document recognising a permanent incapacity or invalidity rate of at least 80%, only the fact that you deliberately sought the harm can be held against you.
• You were driving: your own fault can limit, or even exclude, your compensation. This is often where the insurer argues, and where the criminal file, witness statements and the reconstruction of the accident become decisive.

Close relatives can also be compensated for their own loss, in particular in the case of death or serious disability.

The insurer of the vehicle involved must make you an offer within deadlines set by the insurance code (article L. 211-9 of the insurance code):

• within three months of your claim, a reasoned offer when liability is not disputed and the harm is fully quantified;
• in the case of personal injury, an offer within eight months of the accident at the latest;
• this offer can be provisional if the insurer has not been informed of the date on which your condition stabilised (consolidation, approximate translation: "the date from which the injury is considered stable") within three months of the accident; the final offer is then due within five months of the date on which the insurer learns of it.

The deadline most favourable to the victim applies.

The problem is rarely the principle of compensation. It is the amount. An offer can be incomplete (heads of loss forgotten), undervalued (a low incapacity rate, needs for human assistance ignored) or premature (your condition has not yet stabilised). French law follows the principle of full compensation: all your losses must be compensated, including loss of earnings, medical costs, pain and suffering, permanent impairment, and the cost of any assistance you need.

Once accepted, a settlement in principle ends the matter. Do not sign an offer before having it reviewed by a lawyer.

Your compensation depends to a large extent on the medical assessment (expertise médicale), which describes your injuries, the date your condition stabilised and the after-effects. The insurer usually appoints its own doctor. You can be assisted at this examination by a doctor of your choice and by your lawyer. Preparing it well, with complete medical records translated where necessary, makes a real difference.

If the accident caused injury, the driver responsible may be prosecuted, for example for causing injury by careless driving. As a victim, you can take part in the criminal case as a civil party (partie civile) to obtain access to the file and claim damages. A victim who lives abroad does not need to come back to France for the hearing: see our page on claiming damages from abroad. Our French page on the victim's role in the criminal case after a road accident gives more detail.

Road accidents covered by the law of 5 July 1985 are excluded from the crime victims' compensation commission (CIVI) (article 706-3 of the code of criminal procedure). The compensation route is the insurer, and if necessary the court.

A visitor injured in France is not left without a remedy because he or she lives elsewhere. In practice:

• keep every document from France: the police or gendarmerie report, hospital records, receipts, the other driver's insurance details;
• keep your medical follow-up at home carefully documented, as it will be needed for the assessment;
• tell the insurer how to contact you, and have your lawyer act as the point of contact if you do not speak French.

Cross-border cases can raise questions about which law applies and which court is competent, depending on the circumstances. We examine these questions case by case.

1. See a doctor and keep every medical document.
2. Obtain the accident report and the details of the vehicles and insurers involved.
3. File a complaint if you were injured.
4. Do not accept an offer or sign anything before getting advice.
5. Contact a lawyer early, before the medical assessment.

Our firm acts for road accident victims in Nice, usually before the court of Grasse, and anywhere in France: dealing with the insurer, preparing the medical assessment, reviewing offers and, where necessary, going to court. Our French page on compensation after a road accident gives more detail, and our general page for victims of a crime or an accident gives an overview.

Our firm works mainly in French. If you do not speak French, tell us when you contact us and we will arrange for an interpreter. You can read our fees page and our page on legal expenses insurance, both in French: your own insurance may cover your lawyer's fees.

I was a pedestrian hit by a car in Nice. Will I be compensated?

As a non-driver, your personal injury is compensated unless you committed an inexcusable fault that was the sole cause of the accident, which is rarely the case.

I was driving. Can I still be compensated?

Yes, but your own fault can limit or exclude your compensation. The analysis of the accident is decisive.

How long does the insurer have to make an offer?

In the case of personal injury, eight months from the accident at the latest, with a final offer within five months of the insurer learning that your condition has stabilised. Other deadlines apply depending on the case.

I have gone home. Can the case continue?

Yes. Your lawyer can deal with the insurer and, if there is a criminal case, present your claim without you having to come back.

Should I accept the first offer?

Not before having it reviewed. A settlement once accepted is in principle final.

The code of criminal procedure is to be reorganised from 1 January 2029 by ordinance no. 2025-1091 of 19 November 2025. The article numbers above are those in force on 5 November 2026.