Just to recap:
Radar detectors are illegal and are readily detected by Les Flicks.
Speeding is taken very seiously, fines and confiscation of a vehicle can be severe.
Very many patrols using portable radar.
All fixed detectors are proceeded by a large warning sign, followed by a sign stating the legal maximum.
On Autoroutes, purges often take place where your time of entry is compared to your time of exit and checked against the distance covered.
Remember that in wet weather all permitted maximum speeds are reduced by 10kph except on the Autoroute where it drops by 20kph.
If you see a black silouhette of a man by the roadside with a red flash through the head, that is where someone was killed on the road, recently.
Document inspection by the roadside is common, there is no requirement that you have done anything wrong, as in the UK.
You must carry insurance documents, vehicle registration documents and some form of identification at all times. There is no allowance to produce at a police station.
The system for applying fines by post in a foreign country is now much more streamlined and readily enforceable, so don't assume they won't bother a foreign vehicle.
Finally, never argue with Les Flicks. French law assumes they are right, they KNOW they are! france is far more a police state than the UK.
Roger in France