French HGV Training

Hi everyone. I originally posted this in the expat forum, but thought it might get a wider reading here.

I have just joined this forum as truck driving is my new vocation. I have been reading posts for the past couple of weeks and thought there might be some interest among members of how driver training is carried out here in France where I live.

Before I moved to France I had never even started an HGV, so everything I now know about them I have learnt here, so there may be times that I might write something that I do not know the English term for, so apologies in advance for that.

First you need to have last passed an exam on the Code de la Route (Highway Code) within 5 years. The training for this can be done online, but the final exam is done by computer in a large room with about 40 candidates, and you need to score 35/40.

Once you have your Code pass, then you can progress to the plateau. This is the first part of the driving test for any category. For Cat C, it consists of the following:

Written exam: 10 questions from a bank of 200. Questions cover driving hours, weight restrictions, various aspects of the law etc.

Oral exam: 1 card from a bank of 20 cards, each card covering 3 subjects, so for example Safety — driving in bad weather, Signage — relevant to an HGV, Mechanical — braking circuit.

Verification of the vehicle: which consists of walking round the vehicle with the examiner, describing its dimensions, checking the tyres, describing the load and how it is secured etc.

If that has all gone well, the plateau finishes with a forward /reverse slalom course, which you have 5 minutes to do the reverse. There are 6 possible courses, chosen on the throw of a dice. You must not exit the white lines and not touch a post then stop accurately on a white band, otherwise you will be instantly eliminated and have to completely retake the plateau (this is due to change next year and you will only have to redo the part you failed).

Each fault during the plateau has a range of penalty points. At the end, if you have a max of 15 points, then you have the right to 3 attempts at the actual driving test. 16/17 points and you can only have one shot at the driving test. 18 or more and it is back to square one.

Once you have your plateau, you can the go out on the road, and hopefully go on to pass your Cat C.

Cat E(C) is obviously more involved, although the process is the same.

The written and oral are more or less the same, though the questions are slanted more to artics.

Due to the sheer volume and amount of checks to do, the verification is split into 6 themes, so effectively you do a partial verification on the throw of a dice.

As part of your verification you also do detallage (decoupling?) and atellage (coupling?) You will be penalised if you have to advance more than once to line up for the atellage.

During the reversing manoeuvre, you are allowed to go forward as often as you like, as long as you finish in the 5 minutes. 1 second over and you are eliminated. If you descend from the cab to check something that is allowed, but leave your door open and it is 2 points.

The same scoring system applies as for the C with the same result.

Once you have your licence you then need to have a FIMO (Formation Initial Minimum Obligatiore). This I think is known in the UK as the DCPC.

The training for the FIMO is 140 hours (4wks, 35 hrs per week) continuous.

It consists of training on the rules for driving hours, rest periods, working time, use of the tacho (digital and analogue). Other themes are health, road safety, environment, loading, work related accidents, economical driving. There is a multi-choice exam at the end of this which has a minimum mark of 24 out of 40.

Two days are dedicated to mechanics, ie how the various mechanical parts of the vehicle actually work together. Again a multi-choice exam, 12 /20.

Finally there is 40 hours of driving (4 drivers each driving 10 hours) plus an additional hour final assessment.

You are constantly assessed by many instructors, and there is the very real possibility of failure.

Once the FIMO is obtained, it is valid for 5 years, and then you have to do 35 hours of training for the FCO, again done in one week.

I am posting this as I have just gone through all this. I passed my Cat C in December 2010, my FIMO on 30/11/12 and my Cat E(C) on 5/12/12. Now for a job!

Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

del

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

The Cat C was paid for by the SDIS, so that I can drive all the HGV pompier vehicles ( I am a Sapeur-Pompier Volontaire).

Then last year I decided to finish the business I ran, and find something else to do. Looking at driving jobs it was apparent that I needed the FIMO, so I signed on with the Pole Emploi (job centre) and although not entitled to any kind of unemployment benefit, they put me forward for training funded by the region. It was the training provider that proposed the Cat E(C) in addition to the FIMO.

So the only personal cost to me was in fuel to get to and from the training.

Bienvenue et felicitations - your English is far better than many on this forum that supposedly speak it as first language…and far better than my pauvre French…!!!

An interesting insight into HGV training in France. It sounds expensive…and I’d wager it wouldn’t go down that well here!

Sorry to disappoint you, I am English! I moved to France In 2006.

Héraultais:
so I signed on with the Pole Emploi (job centre)

cheap joke time
We have those offices over here, only employ Poles!
cheap joke over

Twoninety88:

Héraultais:
so I signed on with the Pole Emploi (job centre)

cheap joke time
We have those offices over here, only employ Poles!
cheap joke over

Héraultais:
Sorry to disappoint you, I am English! I moved to France In 2006.

Not disappointed at all…someone that understands grammar and spelling is always welcome in this desert of ignorance…

Héraultais:

Twoninety88:

Héraultais:
so I signed on with the Pole Emploi (job centre)

cheap joke time
We have those offices over here, only employ Poles!
cheap joke over

+1 ( CUE Orys )

Salut Heraultais et bienvenue (wellcome)

You were really lucky to get the Pole Emploi to fund your training for your FIMO, here in Calvados I was told that the only way I would get any funding would be if I could get a haulage company to sponsor me. i.e. take me on as an employee and guarantee that after I had my FIMO they would employ me on a 6 month contract.

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

del

Delboy the price of a FIMO (DCPC) here can range from E1750 upwards, very expensive but once you’ve got it, the transport world is your oyster, you also get ADR within that training (not tankers)

pierrot 14:
Salut Heraultais et bienvenue (wellcome)

You were really lucky to get the Pole Emploi to fund your training for your FIMO, here in Calvados I was told that the only way I would get any funding would be if I could get a haulage company to sponsor me. i.e. take me on as an employee and guarantee that after I had my FIMO they would employ me on a 6 month contract.

Merci pierrot 14. I was amazed that the training was paid for me, but it was regional funding to get people back to work (Programme Regional Qualifiant(PRQ)) and I know that not all regions have such a programme. Your right about the cost, my training was over 3000€ worth. I do have 2 weeks of Stage starting tomorrow (which I had to organise myself).

pierrot 14:
Salut Heraultais et bienvenue (wellcome)

You were really lucky to get the Pole Emploi to fund your training for your FIMO, here in Calvados I was told that the only way I would get any funding would be if I could get a haulage company to sponsor me. i.e. take me on as an employee and guarantee that after I had my FIMO they would employ me on a 6 month contract.

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

del

Delboy the price of a FIMO (DCPC) here can range from E1750 upwards, very expensive but once you’ve got it, the transport world is your oyster, you also get ADR within that training (not tankers)

thanks

Héraultais:

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

The Cat C was paid for by the SDIS, so that I can drive all the HGV pompier vehicles ( I am a Sapeur-Pompier Volontaire).

Then last year I decided to finish the business I ran, and find something else to do. Looking at driving jobs it was apparent that I needed the FIMO, so I signed on with the Pole Emploi (job centre) and although not entitled to any kind of unemployment benefit, they put me forward for training funded by the region. It was the training provider that proposed the Cat E(C) in addition to the FIMO.

So the only personal cost to me was in fuel to get to and from the training.

that was lucky then I thought the France was as tight as us

Héraultais:
Merci pierrot 14. I was amazed that the training was paid for me, but it was regional funding to get people back to work (Programme Regional Qualifiant(PRQ)) and I know that not all regions have such a programme. Your right about the cost, my training was over 3000€ worth. I do have 2 weeks of Stage starting tomorrow (which I had to organise myself).

Bon chance for the Stage. Who are you hoping to work for when it’s all done? Or have you already got something lined up, I’m sure there’s a big TFE depot somewhere near your region.

It’s a long time since I took my HGV (straight to ‘class 1’ from a car licence and 1 week training followed by an hour’s test, if I remember correctly?), but it sounds a lot tougher than the current UK test, anyone know if it is?

delboytwo:

pierrot 14:
Salut Heraultais et bienvenue (wellcome)

You were really lucky to get the Pole Emploi to fund your training for your FIMO, here in Calvados I was told that the only way I would get any funding would be if I could get a haulage company to sponsor me. i.e. take me on as an employee and guarantee that after I had my FIMO they would employ me on a 6 month contract.

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

del

Delboy the price of a FIMO (DCPC) here can range from E1750 upwards, very expensive but once you’ve got it, the transport world is your oyster, you also get ADR within that training (not tankers)

thanks

Fair play for getting it paid for but ■■■■ me!! If the French Goevrnment can afford to splash out that kind of money to get people in work with the cutbacks were facing here its time their ■■■■■■■ EU rebate was severley cut if not abolished totally!!

coreysboys:

delboytwo:

pierrot 14:
Salut Heraultais et bienvenue (wellcome)

You were really lucky to get the Pole Emploi to fund your training for your FIMO, here in Calvados I was told that the only way I would get any funding would be if I could get a haulage company to sponsor me. i.e. take me on as an employee and guarantee that after I had my FIMO they would employ me on a 6 month contract.

delboytwo:
Hi there

can I ask you how much does this all cost you

del

Delboy the price of a FIMO (DCPC) here can range from E1750 upwards, very expensive but once you’ve got it, the transport world is your oyster, you also get ADR within that training (not tankers)

thanks

Fair play for getting it paid for but [zb] me!! If the French Goevrnment can afford to splash out that kind of money to get people in work with the cutbacks were facing here its time their [zb] EU rebate was severley cut if not abolished totally!!

Can’t understand why you would want to criticise and then penalise a government that is actually trying to get people back into work. Or is it just because it’s France ( starting to sound like Orys )
A bit more balls and commitment from the British government would probably help if they started again what used to be called apprenticeships.
And remember, that money invested puts the person into a job and maybe off benefits. The funds invested will be recouped after a time in taxes.

Interesting post, and well done for getting it all paid for you. Life for truck drivers here in France doesn’t seem too bad overall, although many Brits are disappointed by the pay which almost always appears less than an equivalent job in the UK. It’s important not to overlook ‘les frais de route’, such as meal allowances and so on when job hunting, as the straight hourly rate doesn’t mean too much when you get your pay at the end of the month (good luck understanding the pay slips though!).

pierrot 14:
Bon chance for the Stage. Who are you hoping to work for when it’s all done? Or have you already got something lined up, I’m sure there’s a big TFE depot somewhere near your region.

TFE (now STEF) is pretty non-existent in the south. Narbonne has just a handful of trucks, as does Vendargues (Montpelier), but the company has virtually called a halt to recruiting drivers. As the old fellas leave they’re not replaced, instead they use agency lads or call in subbies to take over the trips. The only exception is the big depot up at Vire in Normandy where they are still taking on drivers for distance work (up near you Pierrot).

Bonne chance pour la suite

~ Craig

Héraultais:
Hi everyone. I originally posted this in the expat forum, but thought it might get a wider reading here.

I have just joined this forum as truck driving is my new vocation. I have been reading posts for the past couple of weeks and thought there might be some interest among members of how driver training is carried out here in France where I live.

Before I moved to France I had never even started an HGV, so everything I now know about them I have learnt here, so there may be times that I might write something that I do not know the English term for, so apologies in advance for that.

First you need to have last passed an exam on the Code de la Route (Highway Code) within 5 years. The training for this can be done online, but the final exam is done by computer in a large room with about 40 candidates, and you need to score 35/40.

Once you have your Code pass, then you can progress to the plateau. This is the first part of the driving test for any category. For Cat C, it consists of the following:

Written exam: 10 questions from a bank of 200. Questions cover driving hours, weight restrictions, various aspects of the law etc.

Oral exam: 1 card from a bank of 20 cards, each card covering 3 subjects, so for example Safety — driving in bad weather, Signage — relevant to an HGV, Mechanical — braking circuit.

Verification of the vehicle: which consists of walking round the vehicle with the examiner, describing its dimensions, checking the tyres, describing the load and how it is secured etc.

If that has all gone well, the plateau finishes with a forward /reverse slalom course, which you have 5 minutes to do the reverse. There are 6 possible courses, chosen on the throw of a dice. You must not exit the white lines and not touch a post then stop accurately on a white band, otherwise you will be instantly eliminated and have to completely retake the plateau (this is due to change next year and you will only have to redo the part you failed).

Each fault during the plateau has a range of penalty points. At the end, if you have a max of 15 points, then you have the right to 3 attempts at the actual driving test. 16/17 points and you can only have one shot at the driving test. 18 or more and it is back to square one.

Once you have your plateau, you can the go out on the road, and hopefully go on to pass your Cat C.

Cat E(C) is obviously more involved, although the process is the same.

The written and oral are more or less the same, though the questions are slanted more to artics.

Due to the sheer volume and amount of checks to do, the verification is split into 6 themes, so effectively you do a partial verification on the throw of a dice.

As part of your verification you also do detallage (decoupling?) and atellage (coupling?) You will be penalised if you have to advance more than once to line up for the atellage.

During the reversing manoeuvre, you are allowed to go forward as often as you like, as long as you finish in the 5 minutes. 1 second over and you are eliminated. If you descend from the cab to check something that is allowed, but leave your door open and it is 2 points.

The same scoring system applies as for the C with the same result.

Once you have your licence you then need to have a FIMO (Formation Initial Minimum Obligatiore). This I think is known in the UK as the DCPC.

The training for the FIMO is 140 hours (4wks, 35 hrs per week) continuous.

It consists of training on the rules for driving hours, rest periods, working time, use of the tacho (digital and analogue). Other themes are health, road safety, environment, loading, work related accidents, economical driving. There is a multi-choice exam at the end of this which has a minimum mark of 24 out of 40.

Two days are dedicated to mechanics, ie how the various mechanical parts of the vehicle actually work together. Again a multi-choice exam, 12 /20.

Finally there is 40 hours of driving (4 drivers each driving 10 hours) plus an additional hour final assessment.

You are constantly assessed by many instructors, and there is the very real possibility of failure.

Once the FIMO is obtained, it is valid for 5 years, and then you have to do 35 hours of training for the FCO, again done in one week.

I am posting this as I have just gone through all this. I passed my Cat C in December 2010, my FIMO on 30/11/12 and my Cat E(C) on 5/12/12. Now for a job!

Hello Heraultais (et salut a toi aussi, Pierrot 14)

Good to see other members of this fine forum lurking in deepest darkest France…

I toyed with the idea of doing my Cat C in France but found it too beurocratic. Ended up doing it back in the UK in 2006. I Therefore tip my hat to you for sticking with it and completing it as you did…
I run my own trucks (only two little LF45’s) and am based a couple of clicks from the Mt St Michel. Because of the fact that i run the trucks as part of my commercial workshop activity, i am exempt from the Fimo/Fcos… This does mean though that i have to be carefull about what i am transporting on them.

Pierrot, je passe souvent a Caen/Ouistreham pour rejoindre le ferry, si pare chance to vois un LF45 gris metalise avec le volant a droite (une avec une grue et l’autre une benne) fais moi des rapelles de phares…

Allez, Bon courage et a bientot

Simon

Here in england to get your hgv license you have to be able to write your own name and count from 1 to 5 then thats it your done.