What is the most popular car hire provider in France?

The most popular car hire company at France is Alamo. With prices on ECONOMY starting at £17/day about 166% more people book with Alamo than other companies in the country.

What is the cheapest city to get a rental car in France?

When visiting France, it is typically cheapest to hire your car in Aix-en-Provence where rental cars typically will cost around £27/day (29% less than the country average). The absolute cheapest car hire price in France was found in Lyon for just £18/day.

What side of the road do you drive on in France?

In France, drivers are expected to drive on the right side of the road.

Cheap Car Hire in France | Deals From £16/Day

Q: What are the car hire prices for popular cities in France?

Out of all the popular cities in France, Toulouse is the cheapest city to rent a car in at just £19/day. Renting a car in Toulouse is 27% cheaper than renting one in Grenoble where the per day rate is around £26. Other fairly inexpensive cities in France to get a rental car in are: Lyon (£19/day), Limoges (£19/day), and Rennes (£19/day). While these cities typically have cheaper prices than the rest of the country, travelers looking to rent a car in Lyon should expect to spend around £19/day on their transportation. The most popular city to rent a car in France is Lyon.

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France car hires in 2025

Most popular company	Goldcar Rental SP
Most common car type	Economy
Average price per day	£37
Cheapest price per day	£16

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Popular car types in France

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There are 79 hire agencies servicing France. These agencies, altogether, have 9,013 hire locations available. Need an affordable hire? small car is the cheapest car type to hire in France with prices from £16 a day in the previous 7-day period. Here are 5 car types you can hire in France:

Economy

£17+

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Compact

£19+

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Intermediate

£24+

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Standard

£30+

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SUV

£49+

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People carrier

£32+

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Full-size SUV

£36+

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Mini

£16+

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Compare car hire deals in France by type

Here are the best France small car hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Here are the best France medium car hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Here are the best France large car hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Here are the best France SUV hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Here are the best France van hire prices found by Cheapflights users in the past 7 days:

Toyota Aygo£16/day

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Smart Forfour£17/day

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Hyundai i10£18/day

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Best car hire deals found in France

We've found these great deals on car hires in France, including options within the Paris, Nice and Marseille area. Come back soon if you don't find what you're looking for as deals are updated often.

Toyota Aygo£16/day

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Smart Forfour£17/day

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Hyundai i10£18/day

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Cheapflights insights for France car hires

Get relevant, data-driven information to help you hire a car in France, including pricing trends, ideal booking times, and more.

How far in advance should I hire a car in France?

For the best savings on car hire in France, make your reservation 7 days before pickup. The average price then is just £29/day – about 38% less than the yearly average.

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What is the cheapest car hire company in France?

In France, the most affordable car hire company right now is Goldcar Rental SP, offering prices from just £7.72/day over the past two weeks. Another budget-friendly choice is Rentscape, with rates starting at £11.57/day.

What is the cheapest month to hire a car in France?

The cheapest month to hire a car in France is January, when you can expect to pay £26/day on average. The most expensive month to hire a car in France is July (£39/day on average). The average daily car hire price for each month is shown below. Keep in mind that prices will vary based on availability, when you book, and the type of car you hire.

January

£26

February

£31

March

£28

April

£36

May

£37

June

£37

July

£39

August

£39

September

£34

October

£32

November

£29

December

£33

What car do most people hire in France?

The most popular types of cars to hire in France are the following: Compact cars (Ford Focus or similar), Full-size cars (BMW X3 or similar), and SUV cars (BMW X5 or similar).

Which car hire company has the most locations in France?

Free2Move has 2,120 locations throughout the area, more than any other company. keddy by Europcar has the second-highest number of locations in France at 777.

What are the car hire prices for popular cities in France?

If you're looking for the best car hire deals in France, start with Toulouse, where rates average £19/day. You can also find good prices in Lyon (£19/day), Limoges (£19/day), and Rennes (£19/day).

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Top hire agencies in France

Browse through some of the top car hire agencies in France, including pickup locations serving Paris, Nice and Marseille. See what past customers have to say, compare prices, and review other key details before deciding.

Sixt

7.6

Good

285 reviews•216 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Oct 2024

Overall very good

2.0

Poor|Aug 2023

Picked up a dirty car. Which, they’re now accusing me of damaging with a small, less than 3cm scratch, that I have proof of existing at the time of receipt. If you are to use Sixt, you have to know to look over the car with a fine tooth comb and you’re at risk for surprise charges while on a vacation. Terrible experience.

2.0

Poor|Jul 2023

I had a flat tyre, no spare, my wife and I were stranded, I called assistance several times before getting through to someone who spoke english, the car was towed away after we had a friend rescue us taking two hours of driving. I called to get a replacement car over two full days and a total of 26, yes twenty six phone calls, promises of a replacement car, promises of a taxi, hour and hours wasted and my holiday ruined. Eventually after waiting in the hot sun for an hour and a half and a further three phone calls a taxi arrived and drove me for one hour to the replacement car. I began this final journey at 2pm in the afternoon and didn’t arrive back at our accommodation until 7pm. The replacement car was smaller than the original so in effect a downgrade. This is by far the WORST service I have ever experience at any time in my life. Outsourcing your support, no spare tyre may be financially advantageous for you but for your customers thus is an absolute and unmitigated disaster, it is literally insane that I had to make so many phone calls, wast so much of my time when in 10 minutes I could have changed the tyre. The assistance service is a complete circus and places your customers a huge distress and inconvenience, its almost unbelievable how bad this experience was. I have run my own business for more than 20 years, I don’t know how your corporate team can make such poor decisions about service, it is a complete and unmitigated disaster.

2.0

Poor|Jul 2023

Appalling service and appalling company to deal with. I’ve rented cars from many different locations, and I’ve never ever dealt with such horrendous customer service. The original man serving me at pick up swindled me into a different car which was €300+ more expensive than the car I originally booked - deeming my original choice as “insufficient”. Upon driving on a highway in Paris (130km) the car came up with a warning about the tyres - when I stopped at the nearest service station to check the tyre pressure MULTIPLE tyres were close to flat.. Incredibly unsafe and should have been checked before letting someone take the car. The car itself wasn’t that tidy - with crumbs and dirt on the inside on collection. When trying to contact customer service via phone, I spent over 2 hours being hung up on and talking to multiple different people and receiving multiple different answers. The customer service team were trying to reach the rental location - during business hours for that specific branch - and were unable to contact them. So I’d continuously be hung up on instead of receiving any help whatsoever. The final man I spoke to told me there wasn’t anything he could do - and when I questioned him on whether that was appropriate customer service he retorted with “that’s not what I said” - yet he’d said it to me multiple times. When asking to speak to a manager or supervisor I was advised “that’s not going to happen”. I asked what time the supervisors would be in “I’m not telling you that because you aren’t able to speak to them anyway”. I then drove to the original location, just to be told that “yes of course I can return the car to a different location, it’s just €99..” which then became €140 because apparently it isn’t a set fee - “some days it may be €0, and some days it’s €180”… I’ve never ever ever had an experience of a rental company simply deciding on the day what they would charge for the different location drop off fee. All in all, the rental for 6 days ended up costing €800+ which is a far cry from the €349 (approx) I was quoted originally when booking… Absolutely shocking. The whole company are complete scammers and rip off artists who have no interest in providing any level of customer service.. they simply want to take your money and be done with it. I would never rent a car with these people again, and I will be letting everyone I know who is travelling abroad to avoid these people like the plague. Absolutely appalling service, I’ve already sent a formal complaint to their offices regarding everything because this is a disgusting way to treat paying clients.

10.0

Wonderful|Apr 2023

I liked everything but the deposit

8.0

Very Good|Apr 2023

All good, slight anxiety where to drop off as I was leaving very early before office opened, but I worked it out.

1 out of 95

Sixt Locations in France

Europcar

7.1

Good

219 reviews•566 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Aug 2024

Refused rental because credit card was not allowed to use Finnair discount, clerk just told us “ I will cancel this reservation and if you want now the price is +300€… “ nothing else…

2.0

Poor|Aug 2023

Nothing, was not able to pick up the car, under the pretext that i need to present an international dtiving license, which was never the case in my previous renting from europcar and also ftom the other company i rented from this week instead of europcar .

4.0

Mediocre|Aug 2023

Extra unexpected charge of E30 as I showed up at 12:02 and did not know this was lunch time at 12:00 1h30m into highway driving, light for tire went up - found a shop, both tires in the back were underinflated - was very stressful 30 minutes before bringing the car back, car kept beeping, indicating an issue with front sensors Only one location to bring the car back which was not convenient No clear contact information in case of an issue

2.0

Poor|Aug 2023

I was unable to pick up car due to not having international drivers license STAMPED by the Embassy. I walked over to enterprise and rent it immediately

10.0

Wonderful|Jul 2023

There were extras for going to Monaco and Italy border and also extra for insurance, above the fees. Otherwise highly recommend, great service, high safety if you leave something in the car.

2.0

Poor|Jul 2023

Had to pay double what I was quoted as they said I had no insurance cover. Charged nearly double the price for tank of fuel I pre paid and was told was the same price as garages

1 out of 73

Europcar Locations in France

Avis

7.0

Good

114 reviews•356 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

2.0

Poor|Oct 2023

this was the second time this summer I rented a car from AVIS. The first time they did not have the car I requested and had go to a different location in the town. the second time they brought a car out and again not the one I had requested, and the car was so filthy outside and when I opened the car door the inside has not been vacuumed and paper and plastic bottles were still in there. they the offered me another car that was again dirty on the outside. Not happy with Avis.

8.0

Very Good|Sept 2023

I did not realize when I rented the car that there were two parts of the airport… The Swiss and the French side. So first I went to the Swiss side and she said oh no, your car is at the French side. I went down there and he was very clear that I must not return the car according to the Maps that I had, but I was to use a Q code. It was the most aggravating, horrible, frustrating, and challenging return I have ever made in my whole life! I didn’t know how to get there. I tried several times, I went and scoped it out initially, and it was just absolutely awful. Trying to return the car. I have no idea why you have two separate rental areas in one airport.! Otherwise once I got there, it was quite easy and renting was just great.

2.0

Poor|Aug 2023

Extremely long wait time, unacceptable/dangerous vehicle.

8.0

Very Good|Aug 2023

GPS in the car was not reliable.

8.0

Very Good|Jul 2023

For the first time ever (re car hire) it was a quick, easy, Painless experience

6.0

Okay|Jul 2023

Two main things: 1. Even though the site clearly says that the pick up is on the French side, nowhere it explains the implications of it. 2. I was renting a car in Geneva - Switzerland- but the car did not have the authorization to drive in highways of the country where the city is. What makes it worse is the fact that when asked where to buy, no one said that it could be purchased at the airport. So I now have a risk of being fined because I had to drive in Switzerland to buy what is needed.

1 out of 38

Avis Locations in France

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

7.0

Good

122 reviews•196 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Sept 2023

Happy

10.0

Wonderful|Apr 2023

Good service, no issues at all

2.0

Poor|Mar 2023

Alquilamos y pagamos un auto en Paris, cuando fuimos a buscar no lo tenían y simplemente se lavaron las manos, específicamente la empleada de nombre Polina Si no fuera por la protesta de un amigo que hablaba el idioma no nos iban a solucionar el problema. Tuvimos que ir a otra zona a retirar otro vehículo, que no fue el elegido. Luego para la entrega , que fue en otra ciudad, “se olvidaron” de avisar que habían cambiado de dirección ya que se mudaron a oficinas nuevas, lo cual nos hizo perder más de 40 min buscando él ligera de entrega, y perdimos nuestro tren. Jamas se hicieron responsables o compensaron sus fallas. Un desastre!!!

1 out of 41

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Locations in France

Hertz

6.8

Okay

279 reviews•479 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Jul 2024

super

4.0

Mediocre|Sept 2023

No problem with Hertz, the issue is that Kayak did not state that the car was fully electric, which was very inconvenient for the kind of trip I intended to do. Little autonomy range so we lost precious time charging the car, specially because many charging places are for local cards/ members/subscription, etc, with no translation available. It was not so easy to find a straight forward charging spot, and it takes literally hours to charge. Definitively not for tourists.

2.0

Poor|Sept 2023

When i booked the car the age limit for the car was 25+ , when we arrived and we were extremely tired from the flight , they’ve said “sorry the age limit for this car is 28” , i showed them the reservation that says the age limit is 25+ , but they didn’t give us the car anyway, and then later they gave us another car that is good for my brother’s age (he is 27) , but the price was EXTREMELY HIGH , and we had no choice because everything is closed. Any ways this is my first and LAST time to book from this site and hertz company.

4.0

Mediocre|Sept 2023

Car did not match reservation - had to pay more for the car we received (hidden free). Upon return, had to pay additional hidden fees to have car cleared.. Expenses are one thing, but please have them expressed up front.

10.0

Wonderful|Sept 2023

n/a

10.0

Wonderful|Sept 2023

The staff were great for both pick up and drop off. It was the additional unexpected cost that we were not anticipating which brought the original cost from Kayak up significantly, we could have obtained a better quote from other sites.

1 out of 93

Hertz Locations in France

Dollar

7.4

Good

36 reviews•155 locations

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Overview

Recent reviews

10.0

Wonderful|Sept 2023

Very professional staff. Easy to obtain explanations. Right on target!

2.0

Poor|Sept 2023

Nothing...everything...rental was cancelled

10.0

Wonderful|Aug 2023

Very good!! The location was a bit confusing (please tell customers to meet at the Hertz location). The pick up and drop off were very easy!! Staff was very friendly and explained things well. We would definitely rent here again

4.0

Mediocre|Jun 2023

They only had one of our 2 rental cars available. They had to use the first car to drive to a remote location to pick up a dirty 2nd car, then wait for it to be cleaned. The check in was painfully slow 20++ minutes. Would pay more to rent closer to the cruise ships!

1 out of 12

Dollar Locations in France

Thrifty

6.8

Okay

52 reviews•157 locations

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Overview

Thrifty Locations in France

keddy by Europcar

7.6

Good

9 reviews•777 locations

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Overview

keddy by Europcar Locations in France

Car hire FAQs

What are the requirements to hire a car in France?
Booking a hire car in France gives you the freedom and flexibility to explore at your own pace. If you have a UK photocard driving licence, you do not need an international driving permit (IDP) to drive within the EU. If you have a paper licence, you may need to obtain an IDP from your local post office. The minimum age for car hire in France is generally 21 or 25, depending on the car hire agency. Younger drivers may be able to hire a car if they pay an additional surcharge. If you plan to drive through several countries in Europe, check with your car hire agency about additional charges for crossing borders and to ensure you have the correct documentation and insurance. Book ahead to find cheap car hire in France.
What are the rules for driving in France?
Like most European countries, cars drive on the right-hand side of the road in France. The speed limit in built-up areas is 50 kph (31 mph); it’s 80 kph (50 mph) on main roads and goes up to 110 kph (68 mph) on motorways. Seatbelts are compulsory for all passengers, and children must be restrained in approved child seats for their age and size. Child seats and boosters can usually be arranged through your French car hire company. The legal limit is 49 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or 0.05%, and French police can carry out random breath tests. If you are over the limit, you may receive a fine, be imprisoned or have your licence confiscated. All vehicles should use dipped headlights, particularly when the visibility is poor. If you book a car hire in France, make sure the vehicle contains a warning triangle and reflective jacket in case of an emergency. Drivers should not use headphones at the wheel, but Bluetooth systems are permitted. Most filling stations accept credit cards; however, cards issued in the UK are not always accepted at automatic pumps. Always check with the French Department of Motor Vehicles to be aware of recent law changes.
What type of car is recommended for driving in France?
In larger French cities and dense urban areas, there is a high demand for parking spaces. Hiring a compact car such as a Fiat 500 or Citroen C1 is a good solution, as it will be easier to find a parking spot. If you plan to explore the magnificent mountain ranges such as the Alps or Pyrenees, hire an SUV such as a Jeep Renegade or BMW X1. A full-sized estate such as a Mercedes-Benz C-Class or Audi A5 offers extra comfort and luggage room. Travelling in a small group? Many car hire companies offer passenger van hire that can accommodate up to nine people, such as the Opel Vivaro. For a romantic getaway through the picturesque vineyards of Bordeaux or Loire Valley, you can find luxury car hire in France, such as the BMW 4 Series Coupe. If you’re looking for an environmentally friendly alternative, electric car hire in France is available, with options such as the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf. You can also reserve GPS systems with your hire car in France, to navigate confidently around your destination.
What is the most popular car hire provider in France?
The most popular car hire company at France is Alamo. With prices on ECONOMY starting at £17/day about 166% more people book with Alamo than other companies in the country.
What is the cheapest city to get a rental car in France?
When visiting France, it is typically cheapest to hire your car in Aix-en-Provence where rental cars typically will cost around £27/day (29% less than the country average). The absolute cheapest car hire price in France was found in Lyon for just £18/day.
What side of the road do you drive on in France?
In France, drivers are expected to drive on the right side of the road.