Living here I have got used to the numerous road side checks when one is pulled in and asked to show the log book and driving licence to "flic" number 1 whilst flic number 2 has a look at the car and checks the insurance and MOT which are displayed on the windscreen. The stomach churning anxiety which hit me the first time it happened has now changed into resignation at having to waste a few minutes finding the relevant documents and hoping that they find nothing wrong. On the way back from Cambo, yesterday, I was flagged down as I came off a roundabout on the dual carriageway. Being a Sunday it was pretty quiet so I assumed that they were short of customers. I coasted to a halt, wound down the window and said "Bonjour". I was asked for the paperwork and as I handed it over he informed me that I hadn't put my indicator on as I came off the roundabout. Now as this is one of my bugbears about other drivers, I should think that the vast majority don't do so, I couldn't believe that I had been "copped" for that!! I said how sorry I was- (je suis désolée sounds so dramatic!) that I had seen that there was no traffic coming in the other direction so I hadn't thought it necessary to do so. He told me that it was an offence and that there was an immediate fine of 45 euros but that he had also seen that there was no approaching traffic so that, in this instance, I could proceed with a warning. He asked what nationality I was and I replied British. Ah but you are French now, he said, as you have a French driving licence. What a nice young "flic" !!!!!!!!!!!!
We had another brush with the law earlier in the year. When we moved here we had to re-register the car and change the number plate as we had changed "departements" We did this but somehow never affixed the number plate correctly. In fact Nigel fixed the new one on top of the old one and we forgot about it. On the way into Aire sur l'Adour we were flagged down and as I presented the paperwork I noticed that the second "flic" was looking at the number plates. We were asked why they weren't properly fixed and I replied that we hadn't had time to do so. The "flic" looked at the logbook which showed that we had had 3 months to do so. We were told that this was an offence, that we had to turn round and go back up to the nearest garage and get them done properly and report back to him with the properly fixed plates. This we did with a fair bit of verbal abuse from me to Nigel about him not doing it right in the first place. It was soon done and on reporting back the "flic" finally let his mask slip and smiled and said,"there, it didn't take long did it" !!
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