I hope the following may be of some use if it is your first time over the water.
Some French signs are Bis.This means an alternative route to follow to avoid bottlenecks and jams in the Summer tourist season.
The sign is in yellow with black writing.
Tune in to Fm 107.7.Bulletins in English with traffic updates.
Prioritie a droite;Give way to the right.
Gauche is left.
Toute droite is straight on.
Bouchons is jams.
Douanes is customs.
Peage is toll.
Pompiers is fire brigade.
Autoroute is toll road.
Poids lourds is heavy weight or a lorry.
PL is parking for lorries.
Menu de jour is daily menu.
Arrete is stop.
Decharge is unload.
Charge is to load.
Vide is empty or je suis vide(I am empty.)
Ferme is closed.Ouverte is open.
Demain is tomorow.
Aujourd hui is today.
Conflage is air tyre inflation.
Glacee is ice.
Pneu is a tyre.
Interdite is forbiden.(Not allowed.)
Camion is another word for a lorry.
S’il vous plait is please.
Merci is thank you.
Bon apres midi is good afternoon.
Bonsoir is good evening.
Bonjour is hello.
Je suis en panne is i am broken down.
Appelez is to call.(Phone call.)
Facture;Bill or invoice.
Some toll roads may not accept UK bank or fuel cards.
Some toll booths are unmanned all day and night or just at night.
Keep plenty of Euro coins handy in case the machine is playing up and rejects Euro notes to pay the toll.
I used to write down contact numbers of truck garages and tyre call out numbers when passing through towns.
Even though you may have breakdown cover and tyre call out cards.It is good back up and may be cheaper.
The Police have the right to tow you off the toll road at a high cost.At night it is more expensive.
Some spare jerry cans are useful if you run out of fuel uf the guage is faulty.
A stick of wood to dip the tank.
At the pharmacy you can get medicine over the counter with no need to see a doctor.
In the Uk you do,as in Ventolin inhalers or antibiotics.
toby1234abc:
Conflage is air tyre inflation.
A small correction, it is Gonflage.
frog
horse
Types of food 
Add Snail to that, also a type of citroen car - 2CV
Picine is swimming pool
Velo Bike
Hotel de ville town hall
Marie local village admin office town hall
The national colour is white and the national pass time is surrendering and eating garlic
Tipper Tom:
The national colour is white and the national pass time is surrendering and eating garlic
and cheese
kindle530:
Tipper Tom:
The national colour is white and the national pass time is surrendering and eating garlicand cheese
And as you say… Cheese
SVP is actually, if it pleases you
Good idea for a thread Toby as like it or not anyone going over the water will eventually have to deal with the French 
toby1234abc:
Facture;Bill or invoice.
Or plain old receipt as well
toby1234abc:
Some toll booths are unmanned all day and night or just at night.
You’re a bit behind the times Toby; you’ll rarely find a manned peage over here now, they’re nearly all automated. If you’ve got the “badge” (tag) you can even roll through some of them at 30km/h (at the old Cabbage Patch peage it’s the furthest left lane, or the two on the right. I prefer the left lane at night as it’s less likely that a CRS man will wave you in for a “controle”)
toby1234abc:
At the pharmacy you can get medicine over the counter with no need to see a doctor.
In the Uk you do,as in Ventolin inhalers or antibiotics.
Not strictly true, you MAY find some things available over the counter that you wouldn’t get in the UK but most stuff is still prescription only.
Anyway to add a few more oft-used trucking terms:
“Bon de palette”: pallet note
“B.L.”: delivery note (“bon de livraison”, not British Leyland!)
“Transpalette” (or “tir-pal”): pallet truck
“Gerbeur”: stacking pallet truck
“Salle de repos”: drivers’ room
“Machine a cafe”: hot drinks machine
“Reception”: goods in
“Expedition”: goods out/loading
“Quais”: loading docks
“Z.I.” (zone industrielle): industrial estate
“Pont-bascule”: weighbridge
“Semi”(“semi-remorque”): artic trailer
“Tracteur”: tractor unit
“Sellette”: fifth wheel
“Flexibles”: suzies
“Cale”: wheel chock
“Porteur”: rigid truck
“Camion remorque”: drawbar outfit
“Bâchée”: curtainsider
“Rideau”: curtain
“Groupe frigo”: fridge unit (Carrier/Thermo King, etc)
“Paroi”: moveable fridge bulkhead
“Surge”(“surgelés”): frozen foodstuff
“Frais”: chilled foodstuff
“Viande pendue”: hanging meat
“Primeurs”: produce (fruit & veg)
“Messagerie”: multi-drop
“Un complet”: a full load
These are the expressions used in everyday language, some of it is ‘proper’ French, some is slang, but it’s what you’ll hear.
Self-tipping is becoming increasingly common here anywhere you are told to back up to the loading dock, especially at RDCs (“plateforme logistique”). In such cases to save time it’s worth asking: “C’est moi qui vide, ou c’est vous?” otherwise you may find yourself hanging around wondering why nowt is going on. Oftentimes the driver’s asked “T’en as combien au sol?”, how many pallets on the floor? This is just to work out the space they need to tip you, or if you’re reloading simply to ensure you’ve space in the trailer. And if you hear them mention "europe’ they’re not asking you about your opinion on the EU, they’re talking about europallets.
HTH
~ Craig
Craig 111:
Good idea for a thread Toby as like it or not anyone going over the water will eventually have to deal with the Frenchtoby1234abc:
Facture;Bill or invoice.Or plain old receipt as well
toby1234abc:
Some toll booths are unmanned all day and night or just at night.You’re a bit behind the times Toby; you’ll rarely find a manned peage over here now, they’re nearly all automated. If you’ve got the “badge” (tag) you can even roll through some of them at 30km/h (at the old Cabbage Patch peage it’s the furthest left lane, or the two on the right. I prefer the left lane at night as it’s less likely that a CRS man will wave you in for a “controle”)
toby1234abc:
At the pharmacy you can get medicine over the counter with no need to see a doctor.
In the Uk you do,as in Ventolin inhalers or antibiotics.Not strictly true, you MAY find some things available over the counter that you wouldn’t get in the UK but most stuff is still prescription only.
Anyway to add a few more oft-used trucking terms:
“Bon de palette”: pallet note
“B.L.”: delivery note (“bon de livraison”, not British Leyland!)
“Transpalette” (or “tir-pal”): pallet truck
“Gerbeur”: stacking pallet truck
“Salle de repos”: drivers’ room
“Machine a cafe”: hot drinks machine
“Reception”: goods in
“Expedition”: goods out/loading
“Quais”: loading docks
“Z.I.” (zone industrielle): industrial estate
“Pont-bascule”: weighbridge
“Semi”(“semi-remorque”): artic trailer
“Tracteur”: tractor unit
“Sellette”: fifth wheel
“Flexibles”: suzies
“Cale”: wheel chock
“Porteur”: rigid truck
“Camion remorque”: drawbar outfit
“Bâchée”: curtainsider
“Rideau”: curtain
“Groupe frigo”: fridge unit (Carrier/Thermo King, etc)
“Paroi”: moveable fridge bulkhead
“Surge”(“surgelés”): frozen foodstuff
“Frais”: chilled foodstuff
“Viande pendue”: hanging meat
“Primeurs”: produce (fruit & veg)
“Messagerie”: multi-drop
“Un complet”: a full loadThese are the expressions used in everyday language, some of it is ‘proper’ French, some is slang, but it’s what you’ll hear.
Self-tipping is becoming increasingly common here anywhere you are told to back up to the loading dock, especially at RDCs (“plateforme logistique”). In such cases to save time it’s worth asking: “C’est moi qui vide, ou c’est vous?” otherwise you may find yourself hanging around wondering why nowt is going on. Oftentimes the driver’s asked “T’en as combien au sol?”, how many pallets on the floor? This is just to work out the space they need to tip you, or if you’re reloading simply to ensure you’ve space in the trailer. And if you hear them mention "europe’ they’re not asking you about your opinion on the EU, they’re talking about europallets.
HTH
~ Craig
Thx Craig!
I’m learning French at the moment, started 2yrs ago at college, but because I can’t live in France right now its gonna take a few yrs b4 I’m fluent me thinks.
These terms are very helpful in describing my job in presentations to the class…cheers!
Encoule and Merde are also useful to know.
kerbut:
Encoule and Merde are also useful to know.
I would have got a smack around the ear, from my Mum if she heard me saying those 
toby1234abc:
PL is parking for lorries.
PL is simply shorthand for Poids Lourds.
Heard mars in turkey takingon uk drivers
Must be able to ride a bike be a good swimmer
And communicate well with localmayors in the evenings
“Compteur kilomètrique”: odometer
“Pot d’échappement”: exhaust pipe
“Clignotants”: indicators
Est-ce de cette façon à la Turquie?
I think for newbies in France it´s importent too,to know that on the city highway (Le Perepherique) in Paris the regulation applies right before left.The incoming traffic from the right side has priority.Thats different to other rules in other countrys or citys.
Silverwolve:
I think for newbies in France it´s importent too,to know that on the city highway (Le Perepherique) in Paris the regulation applies right before left.The incoming traffic from the right side has priority.Thats different to other rules in other countrys or citys.
Has it changed since I was last on Le Periff.
Don’t the on-slips have " Cedez le Passage " (give way) with an upturned triangle on them ?
has been that way for at least five years, since I first drove on it…