Driving In France

I am spending a few days in France to visit family. The thing is, I come from a small village and, basically, there is no choice: I have to rent a car to get there. This means that I have to drive my little ones in a country that's supposed to be mine but that I don't recognise any more.

Well, driving in France is nothing short of a challenge. It looks like there is a different set of rules over here. People at the wheel become some sort of monsters who will stop at nothing to make your life a living hell while you drive.

For instance, speed limits must not be respected. Speed limits are, in fact, a minimal speed. Unless there is a police van or a radar, of course. I tend to be very disciplined and I was driving at exactly 90km per hour (the speed limit). Well, everybody was overtaking me. Everybody, even lorries and motorcycles. Unbelievable. Maybe I ended up in the middle of a race without knowing it.

If you don't have any visibility, it is not a problem, you can overtake. I find this behaviour incredibly dangerous, especially on small country roads, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone. Have I missed something?

If you believe that the driver in front of you is too slow, you stay as close to him/her as possible. Lovely. Maybe it is supposed to be funny. I need to buy a 'keep your distance' sticker. I am not sure that it will work but you never know, it might be worth a try, I suppose.

Traffic lights are just a Christmas decoration at night. Stopping at a red light in the middle of the night is considered to be rude because you are hindering the fluidity of the traffic. Of course. How come I hadn't thought of this?

No car is too old to be driven, preferably fast. I see old cars from my childhood everywhere...Some look like a pot of yogurt and I thought that they might disintegrate on the motorway. But they didn't. Mind you, they almost flew.

In short, every time I have to drive somewhere over here, I am freaking out. You do have the odd angry driver in London, but it is the exception rather than the rule...well, it is the other way around over here.

I really hope that I will make it back to London in one piece, as I am honestly appalled with such road rage.

That said, apparently I shouldn't complain. I am told that it is even worse in Italy. Life is full of challenges I suppose. Maybe I should buy an old tank?