I have a holiday house in France so spend a fair bit of time over there driving. You are right on the 'give way to the right' issue which has largely been sorted out with Give Way signs, etc. But you do still get roads merging where there is no clear signage, where I am not sure of who has right of way, so discretion is very much the order of the day. It does help driving an obviously British car, as that gives the other driver the warning that you may not be entirely sure of the rules.

I always carry a warning triangle and have a fluorescent yellow jacket to hand in case of breakdowns. Spare bulbs are a must. As has been said breathalyzer kits aren't necessary. if you are going to be driving at nigh some kind of headlight deflector (or pieces of tape) are polite to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. Don't wait till you get to the ferry port/Eurotunnel to buy these as you will overpay. Halfords, Wilko, Ebay, Amazon can supply everything that you need.

I have never had a problem with the old style satnav with speed camera app, but their speed cameras are generally very well signed and are there to slow you down rather than catch you.

French drivers do tend to drive at high speeds very close to the back of your car on motorways if you are in their way - they aren't aggressively tailgating it is just the way they drive - so pull over asap and let them get by. They also tend to pull in quite sharply in front of you close to motorway exits. I do find that they are less aggressive/less road rage than the UK, they just drive faster and closer than is comfortable.

Parking can be interesting where the old stories of them bumping into cars front and back to create a space happens, so leave plenty of space to other cars when parking. And the motorway Toll tags are definitely worth every penny and more that they cost to avoid the inevitable panicked search for money/credit cards and fingertip stretch out of the car window to pay a toll.

Yes - most rond points are signed in the UK convention, but a lot of the older drivers who have never had to take a test, especially in the rural areas, have never really grasped that the rules have changed. The attitude is "Rules are for people who need them"

In France virtually overnight the roundabout priority was changed to the much more sensible "British style" give way with huge signs proclaiming "VOUS N'AVEZ PAS LA PRIORITÉ". A few rural roundabouts still remain where this is not the case, so watch out in villages. It's usually the Renault bread van that will hurtle onto the roundabout from your right.
The absolute rule of giving way to the right seems to have lapsed as far as highways go, and it is quite common to see a diamond shaped "fried egg" (yellow with a white border) sign indicating that you DO have priority. (A crossed-out fried egg means that it's back to Priorité à droite) Beware of unsignposted crossroads (British ones always show priority) where the default rule is still to give way to the right.
Bonnes vacances!

Hi there FP. Thanks for the advice - lots of good info there.

I've had a look into the Crit'Air stickers and I want to make sure I have one before we embark on our travels.

Also thanks for the suggestion. I did some digging around Google and saw the halfords driving abroad kit you mentioned, but £35 seemed a bit dear. I found one on the RAC's shop specifically for driving in France for about £25 so I will go with that. I know you mentioned the breathalysers aren't important but I'm glad that this comes with them because I will be drinking one or two nights while I'm there so I want to make sure I'm not over the limit the next day.

The only thing is that I'm not sure if it includes a Crit'Air sticker, can anyone see if it says anything on the page that suggests it/mentions it? (www.racshop.co.uk/driving-in-france-kit.html)

If not then I will probably still buy the kit and just get the Crit'Air sticker separately because if this driving in france kit doesn't have it then I doubt any others will.

and Crikey! The swear filter needs to calm down haha

Thanks J

Edit: Love what the swear filter has done to that port in the south of France!

Fortunately not many posters try to refer to the well-known ex-manager of a well-known north London football club .....

Been on annual fortnight plus camping/caravaning in France from 1999 to 2017 inclusive, usually with a few shorter trips interspersed.

Never had a serious problem on the road. Priorite a Droit even where still existing is rarely taken. Like somebody above I've been caught out once on a town road but was easily able to stop short. Never been stopped by Police but several times been waved through checkpoints when they clock my UK plate/rhd vehicle. Urban default speed limit (like our 30mph) is 50kph and can be assumed, unless contrary signage, to apply from boundary of a conurbation/village until its end signified by sign with place name crossed through in red.

Headlamp deflectors are a must. France has far more road tunnels than we do. Not so much Mont Blanc and like but on ordinary Autoroute and around cities such as Rouen and Lyon. There's usually an instruction to 'allumez vos feux' at entrance and a reminder to etinguez at end.

Assume you'll have breakdown cover but it's worth learning French names for common car parts like exhaust, brakes, tyres etc.