French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceThe title referred to in the second paragraph of Article 529-2, in the second paragraph of Article 529-5 or the second paragraph of III of Article 529-6 is enforced in accordance with the rules laid down by this Code for the enforcement of police judgments. The statute of limitations on the penalty begins to run from the date on which the Public Prosecutor signs the enforcement order, which may be individual or collective.
Within thirty days of the dispatch of the notice inviting the offender to pay the increased fixed fine, the person concerned may lodge a reasoned complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the effect of which is to cancel the enforcement order in respect of the contested fine. This complaint remains admissible as long as the penalty is not time-barred, if it is not clear from an enforcement act or any other means of proof that the person concerned was aware of the increased fixed fine. However, in the case of a traffic offence, the claim is no longer admissible after a period of three months if the notice of the increased fixed fine is sent by registered post to the address shown on the vehicle registration certificate, unless the offender can prove that he has, before the expiry of this period, declared his change of address to the vehicle registration department; in the latter case, the offender is only liable for a sum equal to the amount of the fixed fine if he pays it within forty-five days, which has the effect of cancelling the enforcement order for the amount of the increase.
The claim must be accompanied by the notice of the increased fixed fine corresponding to the fine in question and, in the case provided for by article 529-10, one of the documents required by that article, failing which it is inadmissible.
