British drivers travelling to Europe this year could see bright pink number plates on the road as France introduces new rules.
The French government has launched a new pink temporary licence plate, which was introduced on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
The new licence plates are reserved for vehicles with a WW or W garage registration certificate after being outlined last November.
They will apply to vehicles awaiting final registration, vehicles imported before being registered in France or vehicles used by professionals for road tests.
The French government intends for the licence plates to make it clearer for law enforcement to identify and control these vehicles.
The new format will indicate the expiry date of the provisional certificate, further aiding law enforcement efforts.
If the authorisation has expired, the French government said action would be taken against the drivers of the vehicle.
The Road Safety Authority and its partners have been leading the charge, with concerns around 400,000 temporary WW and W garage registrations every year.
The pink licence plates have been used in France since January 1, 2026
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Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, said: “The introduction of these easily recognisable pink licence plates will allow for better identification and control of vehicles with temporary registration.
“Even though fraud remains a marginal phenomenon compared to the scale of activity within the SIV (which has 65 million files), it has increased in recent years, and numerous effective and operational measures are being deployed to curb and reduce this scourge.”
The rules around the circulation of vehicles with provisional registrations remain unchanged, the government confirmed.
The French authorities hope the new number plates will crack down on rule breakers
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Prior to the law changes, new cars or cars purchased abroad had temporary licence plates that looked like standard number plates.
The French Prefecture De Police stated that some drivers were taking advantage of this loophole to drive on plates long after they had expired.
It added: “Traffic tickets for any violations they committed were then sent to the vehicle owners who had received the temporary registration number, which had since been reassigned.”
The temporary licence plates are valid for a period of four months, with the new pink plates aiming to crack down on people abusing these rules.