Arrested in Paris: garde à vue and what follows
French police custody is called garde à vue. It lasts 24 hours and can be extended once by the prosecutor to 48, in writing and with reasons. Since 1 July 2024 no questioning may begin without your lawyer present. France has no bail: release is decided on the risks, not on a payment.
The French clock
| Step | Rule | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Initial custody | 24 hours | For any offence carrying imprisonment |
| Extension | A further 24 hours, to 48 in total | Written reasoned decision; offence must carry at least one year |
| Organised crime | Up to 96 hours | Decided by a judge |
| Terrorism | Up to 144 hours | Decided by a judge |
| Lawyer | No questioning may begin without one | Since 1 July 2024 |
| Before the magistrate | A further period of up to 20 hours may follow | Art. 803-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure |
The last line surprises everyone. The end of the garde à vue is not always the end of the detention: the code allows a further window while you wait to be presented to a magistrate. People count 48 hours and are still in a cell.
There is no bail in France
Bail as understood in common law systems does not exist in French criminal procedure. At the end of custody the magistrate decides between release, judicial supervision with conditions, and pre-trial detention. Money does not enter the decision.
What does enter it is the same material that works everywhere: an address, ties, documented occupation, and a willingness to comply with conditions. Producing it in the first 48 hours is the whole game.
What actually happens in Paris
The cases involving visitors follow the map of the city. Incidents at night around Châtelet, Pigalle and the Marais; theft and pickpocketing accusations on the metro and around the monuments; drugs at the low end in the north-east; disputes with taxis and drivers that escalate into complaints; and Roissy and Orly, which generate their own category.
- Metro and monuments. Accusations of theft or pickpocketing, frequently on the identification of a single witness.
- Nightlife. Fights outside bars, ending with both parties as complainants.
- Airports. Customs and drug cases, and arrests on an alert relating to another country.
- Demonstrations. Paris has more of them than anywhere in Europe, and arrests around them are routine.
- Vehicles. Drink driving and disputes with drivers, where the French thresholds differ from those at home.
Where an Italian lawyer comes in
Before a French court only a lawyer admitted in France can act, and one has to be instructed immediately — the 2024 rule means the first interview cannot even start without one. What an Italian lawyer does is different and it is the part nobody organises: selecting that lawyer, briefing them, explaining the position to the family in a language they speak, and handling everything on the Italian side.
That second front is real whenever there is an Italian connection: a parallel Italian proceeding, a European Arrest Warrant issued by Italy, an alert, or consequences at home. The arrangement is described in how a correspondent case is run, and the surrender framework in the guide on the European Arrest Warrant.
If you are the family
You need three things before anything can move: the name, the police station or commissariat holding the person, and the hour of the arrest. Every deadline runs from that hour.
The consulate can check on conditions and keep contact; it does not conduct the defence, choose the lawyer or pay fees. The general position is in the guide for families of someone arrested abroad.
Frequently asked questions
How long can French police hold me?
Twenty-four hours, extendable once by the prosecutor to forty-eight. Up to ninety-six hours for organised crime and one hundred and forty-four for terrorism, decided by a judge.
Can I get bail in France?
No. Bail does not exist in French criminal procedure. The magistrate decides between release, judicial supervision with conditions, and pre-trial detention.
Do I have to answer before my lawyer arrives?
Since 1 July 2024 no questioning may begin without your lawyer present, so the answer is that the interview should not start at all.
Is 48 hours really the maximum?
Not always. The code allows a further period of up to twenty hours while you await presentation to a magistrate, which is why people are still held after the custody period ends.
If this is happening now
In France the first interview cannot begin without a lawyer, so the hours before it are the ones that count. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege, at any hour.