Tesla’s push to expand Full Self-Driving (Supervised) across Europe has encountered a hurdle, with France making it clear the system will not be approved in its current form.
The French government says it has concluded the system does not yet meet the country’s safety expectations, with Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot confirming France will not approve FSD under the European Union’s Article 39 exemption.
In a newly released video on Wednesday, Tabarot outlined several concerns identified during the government’s review, stressing that the decision is based on safety rather than opposition to autonomous driving technology.
“The safety trade-offs are not yet sufficient to authorize it as it currently stands. All the more so since this system is not a self-driving system,” he said. (translated from French)
Speeding and driver monitoring concerns
According to the French government, one of the biggest issues is that Tesla’s system can exceed posted speed limits.
Officials also questioned whether Tesla’s driver monitoring system does enough to ensure drivers remain engaged during the most demanding situations.
“According to the data we have, the system doesn’t guarantee an optimal level of driver attention in urban settings and during the most complex maneuvers, such as lane changes, intersections, or roundabouts,” Tabarot explained.
France says those shortcomings prevent it from approving FSD at this stage, despite acknowledging the technology’s potential benefits.
Discussions with Tesla continue
While France has declined to approve the system for now, the government says discussions are ongoing with Tesla, the Netherlands, and other European countries as regulators continue evaluating the technology.
“We’re currently continuing our technical discussions with the Netherlands, other European states, and Tesla to refine our analysis.”
Tabarot also emphasized that France wants autonomous driving technology to succeed, provided it can be introduced safely.
“France supports these technologies, and their deployment must happen within a framework of trust that allows us to evaluate the systems and determine what adjustments FSD needs to guarantee a high level of safety.”
Approval may still be possible
France’s objections are not insurmountable obstacles for Tesla. The concerns largely focus on software behaviour, including the system’s willingness to exceed speed limits and its driver monitoring requirements. Both of these are areas that Tesla could potentially modify through software updates to better align with French regulations.
For now, however, French regulators want stronger assurances that the system consistently follows traffic laws and maintains a higher level of driver oversight in complex driving environments before approving the system for use on public roads.
So far Tesla has received approval for FSD in five European markets. It all began with the Netherlands, followed by Lithuania followed, then Estonia, Belgium, and most recently Denmark.
France considers FSD unsafe in its current state and won't allow it. They need more convincing. @aelluswamy @elonmusk @yunta_tsai pic.twitter.com/rOu72AePXJ
— Ian Bernardo (@frizulls) July 22, 2026
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