French Connection

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by nigelrb, May 27, 2019.

  1. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    I'm in France at the moment to see my brother. (Do I have a French flag?)

    Am amazed at the amount of scooters and nikken type 3 wheelers racing around. Lines of them in the streets. Could be the same in London I suppose, but from the small villages of west mids, this is a real culture shock. Haven't seen a Blade nor a Honda cub:(.

    Heaps of battery scooters too creating havoc on the footpaths.
     
  2. Boothman

    Boothman Elite Member

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    No, no flag at all - from memory you’ll only get a french flag if you are using your roaming data, not if you are on a WiFi (or is it the other way round :confused:)
     
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  3. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    Mainly on guest wi fi.
     
  4. Old_boy65

    Old_boy65 Active Member

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    .... what part of France and... have you gone on a bike?
    Enjoy :)
     
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  5. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    Paris central city.

    Bike? It's more than 30 miles so I took the train.:D

    Not sure I can adapt to riding on the 'other's side of the road. I drove in USA many years ago and all's fine on a straight road, but come to a right hand turn I had the natural inclination to veer back to the left.

    Bit disappointing for a guy who's adeptly ambidextrous :)
     
  6. raphael

    raphael Elite Member

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  7. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    You know me too well Raph!!:)
     
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  8. Lozzy

    Lozzy God Like

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    He's gone in the hairdressers car with the cat cushions on the back shelf I bet....he'll fit in rate well with the froggies in that lol
     
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  9. Old_boy65

    Old_boy65 Active Member

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    To be fair... I wouldn’t want to be on a bike in Paris unless it was a push bike and even then only to and fro from the bakery :rolleyes:
     
  10. Mattie660

    Mattie660 Elite Member

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    Very cool to have a French car registration number ending with "75" (centre of Paris). Or at least it used to be, not sure if that still means anything to the French these days ?

    Hope you are having a good time !
     
  11. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    They are crazy here on the battery scooters. They belt down footpaths like some do I'm mobility scooters in UK. Absolutely no regard for anyone .

    Just had to Google '75'. Seems it's the district code, like a post code. I have seen it grafittied on a couple of towers.
     
  12. Mattie660

    Mattie660 Elite Member

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    The Frenchies devide their country up into Departments, and each one has a number - and if you have a car/bike the registration number will have the Department number on it as the last two digits of the vehicle registration number.

    So the Frenchies can tell where they are from by the registration number of their cars. Some of these numbers are more notable than others. Some might indicate rural France, in the middle of nowhere. But 75 stands out quite uniquely.

    So Departement 75 is the centre of Paris - expensive stuff. If you can walk out of your house/apartment and bump into the Eiffel Tower - then that will be 75. So if you live in the posh part of town - it suggests money. Smack bang in the centre of Paris - Champs-Elysees, Avenue Victor Hugo - those are Departement 75 - live there and register a car it will have a 75 registration number.

    I am not sure if it is still so highly regarded, it certainly used to be - almost like royalty !:D
     
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  13. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    I'll keep my eyes open. Will change my UK plates to R75:D:D
     
  14. Mattie660

    Mattie660 Elite Member

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    Hope you are enjoying your time in France - have a shot of Calvados !;)
     
  15. Kevin1

    Kevin1 Elite Member

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    If you want R75 just buy an Arai
     
  16. Gravel trap

    Gravel trap Senior Member

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    I used to date a girl who lived in Paris. She was Danish though. I'd ride to Dover get ferry and pelt it down. Once in Paris bike got locked up. After one trip out with her on it that was enough. Dented clios everywhere !
     
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  17. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    20190528_100249.jpg Did some hunting this morning @Mattie660 . All plates now are alpha-numeric-alpha with white rear plates. However, I did spot a car with a yellow '75' rear, and a bike. Cheers for the regional lesson;)
     
    #17 nigelrb, May 28, 2019
    Last edited: May 28, 2019
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  18. Mattie660

    Mattie660 Elite Member

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    Even before that they were Black and Silver .

    They look like this now - with the number in the little box. They cheat a bit by also putting the region to give you a clue, whereas in the old days it was just the number.

    Modern number , again Paris 75:
    Paris number.png

    My "favourite" is the Corsica pirate numbers - see an expensive car with a plate like this - watch out :D

    Corsica pirate - very apt !
    corsica.png
    ..
     
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  19. Old_boy65

    Old_boy65 Active Member

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    My better half often tells me she’s not a fan of Parisians on account of the fact... most other French people (she’s from central France) think Parisians look down on them.... so anycar with a 75 is given a wide birth.
     
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  20. Mattie660

    Mattie660 Elite Member

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    That is very interesting. It seems there is quite a lot of cultural meaning behind that number 75 - something apart.
     

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