Will we soon be able to pay tolls by phone ? Retailleau responds to Macron's request and announces changes

Questioned by the Head of State, the Minister of the Interior assures us that payment by telephone at toll booths will soon be authorized.

“But of course, the matter will be settled. Especially if it is the president who asks for it. A minister is there to deliver,” says Bruno Retailleau with a smile.

The matter goes back to the day before. It is a little after 8 p.m. when the President of the Republic posts an astonishing video on TikTok. Filmed in his office, he responds to an Internet user who complains about having been fined for having paid at a motorway toll with his phone without turning off his engine.

The man says that after being charged €25.90 to pass a toll, he has just “ended up with a €90 fine and three points on his licence because he paid with his phone”.

According to the law, a driver who has not brought his vehicle to a complete stop by turning off the engine cannot seize his phone. This offence is punishable by a fixed fine of €135 and the withdrawal of three points from your driving licence.

Emmanuel Macron’s response: “You’re right. I think that in 2025, we should be able to pay at the toll booth with our phone […] So I’ve passed the file on to the Minister of the Interior and we’re going to sort this out collectively. Thanks for the alert!”

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A quick note in the Council of Ministers

Bruno Retailleau tells us: “The president had sent me a quick note in the Council of Ministers to warn me, saying: you see that I’m taking care of important subjects”.

And the Minister of the Interior assured “La Dépêche”: “I asked for this to be resolved and it will be resolved quickly.”

Motorists will now be able to take out their mobile phones at toll booths without having to turn off their engine.

The day before, Emmanuel Macron had responded to a column published Tuesday by more than 400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the website of the newspaper l'Équipe to contest the new cut in the sports budget.

“You are right. Since 2017, I have ensured that the sports budget increases every year. “We have organized magnificent Olympic and Paralympic Games”, explained the Head of State. “We must keep our commitments and provide the resources for our athletes and so that the legacy of the Games benefits everyone.”

The president thus publicly took the opposite view to his Prime Minister François Bayrou. The latter's spokesperson, Sophie Primas, considered the same day “legitimate” the reduction of the budget of the Ministry of Sports in the 2025 budget project.

“We had an exceptional sequence in 2024 with budgets that had been increased for sport, it is legitimate that we return to a more reasonable low”, she had justified.

Macron needs to take care of himself

Sport, motorway tolls… Emmanuel Macron definitely has a vision of the reserved domain far removed from that of a François Mitterrand or of a Jacques Chirac who, during the period of cohabitation, preferred to focus on international political issues.

But “the president is stamping his feet”, a member of parliament who has stayed in contact with him recently assured us, adding: “He's someone who doesn't sleep, he needs to keep busy”. So like everyone else, he surfs TikTok.

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