Truck driver salary in France 2026: the grille, the SMIC and what drivers really earn

A truck driver in France earns at least 12.31 EUR per hour gross in 2026, because that is the SMIC (salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance, the national minimum wage) since 2026-06-01 , equal to 1,867.02 EUR gross a month for a 35-hour week. The road transport pay grid has not been uprated since the accord of 2023-10-11, so the hire rates of the lower coefficients, 12.09 to 12.14 EUR/h for 110M to 138M, now sit below that floor. This guide on France truck driver salary sets out the grille de salaire (the pay grid) by coefficient, the overtime rules, the 2026 allowances, a worked pay example, and the state of the October 2026 negotiations.

What is the minimum wage for a truck driver in France in 2026?

The minimum is the SMIC at 12.31 EUR/h gross, and it applies to every driver on a French employment contract whatever the collective agreement says. The figure comes from the arrêté (ministerial order) of 2026-05-22, and service-public.gouv.fr lists 1,867.02 EUR gross a month for 35 hours, which is 151.67 hours across a month. Eurostat shows France at 1,867 EUR a month on 2026-07-01, against 620 EUR in Bulgaria and 2,771 EUR in Luxembourg, so the French floor is about three times the Bulgarian one and about two thirds of the Luxembourg one.

The SMIC is only the first floor. Drivers in road freight also fall under the national collective agreement for road transport, IDCC 16 (convention collective nationale des transports routiers), which sets a minimum hourly rate for each coefficient, the classification number of the job. The Ministry of Labour states the rule plainly : the employee receives whichever is higher, the SMIC or the convention minimum. A grid rate below the SMIC therefore has no practical effect until the grid catches up.

Which coefficients of the road transport grid are below the SMIC?

Only the hire-level rates of coefficients 110M to 138M are below the SMIC. Coefficient 150M at hire is above it, and every rung after two years of seniority is above it for all four rows. French sources call this table the grille de salaire du transport routier, and the version below is reconciled to the accord of 2023-10-11, in force since 2023-12-01.

Source: rates per the accord of 2023-10-11 as published by Salerya (accessed 2026-10-24), rounded to the cent. The gap column is simple subtraction against the SMIC of 12.31 EUR/h. No per-coefficient figures were found for 175M or 200M.

The shortfall is small in money terms. A gap of 0.17 to 0.22 EUR/h over 151.67 hours is about 26 to 33 EUR a month, and the employer has to make it up to the SMIC. In December 2025 France Routes reported that the gap between the SMIC and the lowest grid rate was expected to be under 10 cents, with no new agreement signed. The June 2026 SMIC rise to 12.31 EUR/h reversed that position, because the lowest hire rate of 12.09 EUR/h had been 7 cents above the SMIC of 12.02 EUR/h and is now below it, and nothing in the grid has moved since.

Other pay sites print different figures for 138M, including 12.27 and 12.50 EUR/h, so treat any single table as a guide. When a dispute turns on one cent, the text of the convention on Légifrance is the legal reference.

How do equivalence hours and overtime change a long-distance driver's pay?

Long-distance drivers are paid a 25% premium on hours 36 to 43 of the week, and overtime at 50% starts from the 44th hour. For short-distance drivers the 25% band covers hours 36 to 39, and the 50% rate starts from the 40th hour. These are the heures d'équivalence (equivalence hours), a sector rule under which the long working week of a driver is set against a higher weekly threshold than the legal 35 hours.

Salerya's summary of the convention cites articles D3312-46 and D3312-47 of the Code des transports, décret 2002-622, and the accord of 2002-04-23. These thresholds come from a secondary summary and have not been checked against the official text on Légifrance, so confirm them there before you rely on them in a contract.

The pay rule and the driving-time rule are separate. A 43-hour paid week does not change the tachograph limits on driving, breaks and rest, which are set at EU level. For those, review the EU driving hours and rest rules .

Sunday and public-holiday work carries its own flat amounts under the same accord: 12.45 EUR for under three hours and 28.94 EUR for three hours or more, again per Salerya. Sunday and holiday trips also run into French HGV restrictions, so check French truck driving ban times and plan around French public holidays for truck drivers in 2027 before you schedule them.

What are frais de déplacement and grand déplacement worth in 2026?

Since 2026-01-01 a driver away from base receives between 4.42 and 68.67 EUR per allowance event, depending on the type. These frais de déplacement (travel expense allowances) were raised by 1% under avenant n° 81 of 2025-12-02, published in BOCC 2026-01, according to juristique.org . An avenant is an amendment to the collective agreement.

Source: avenant n° 81 amounts as listed by juristique.org (accessed 2026-10-24); the two grand déplacement figures also appear in the Salerya grid page. This is a secondary source, so confirm amounts against the Légifrance text before using them in payroll.

These are expense allowances, not wages. Keep them on a separate line when you compare a job offer with the grid, because a high allowance does not raise the hourly rate that the SMIC test applies to. For how other countries structure daily pay on the road, see daily allowances for drivers in Europe .

What does a gross pay example look like for a 150M long-distance driver?

A 150M driver at hire, on a 43-hour long-distance week, earns about 2,424 EUR gross a month in this example. This is an illustration built from the grid and the equivalence rule above. It is our own arithmetic, not a payslip and not a sourced average.

• Base hours: 151.67 hours x 12.43 EUR = about 1,885 EUR.
• Equivalence hours: the 8 hours between 35 and 43 in a week come to about 34.67 hours a month (8 x 52 / 12). At 12.43 EUR x 1.25, that adds about 539 EUR.
• Gross total: about 2,424 EUR a month, or about 29,088 EUR across 12 months.
• Net estimate: with a simplified deduction of roughly 21% for employee contributions, take-home lands near 1,900 EUR before income tax. The 21% is an assumption for illustration, not a payroll rate.

The example leaves out seniority steps, night work, Sunday amounts, bonuses and every allowance in the previous section. A real payslip changes with each of them. The annual figure of about 29,088 EUR sits near the indicative 30,000 EUR long-distance estimate in the next section, but that estimate has no stated method, so treat the match as a rough cross-check only.

How much more do long-distance and international drivers earn than regional drivers?

International drivers show the highest indicative pay at about 34,000 EUR gross a year, against 25,000 EUR for regional work. Those are market estimates from Salerya for 2026, reviewed on 2026-07-16, and the page names INSEE, DARES and collective agreements as sources without publishing a method. Treat them as indicative only.

Source: Salerya estimates, reviewed 2026-07-16. Low confidence, no stated methodology.

On these figures, an international driver earns about 36% more than a regional one (34,000 against 25,000 EUR). In the grid as published, the hourly rate depends on coefficient and seniority, not on route length. The distance effect shows up in the equivalence thresholds (39 hours for short distance, 43 for long distance) and in the allowances paid for nights away. For a view across borders, compare truck driver salary across Europe .

Why is the grid frozen, and where do the October 2026 negotiations stand?

The grid is frozen because employers and unions have not signed a new pay accord since 2023-10-11. The talks, called NAO (négociation annuelle obligatoire, the yearly mandatory pay negotiation), failed again in December 2025 and, on the latest reporting, again in October 2026. Any figure below is an offer, not a result.

Where the talks stand on 2026-10-24

In December 2025 France Routes reported that employers offered between 0.8% and 1% on wages and 1% on allowances. The four unions CFDT, CFTC, FO-UNCP and CGT turned the offer down, so the grids did not change in 2026.

TRM24 reported on 2026-10-15 that the session of 2026-10-13, the fourth of the round, ended without agreement. Employers were offering 3.9% over 2024 to 2027 and 2.4% on frais de déplacement, and FO had begun a national mobilisation on 2026-10-11. No signed agreement had been reported when this article was written. If an accord is signed and extended, the rates in the grid table above are replaced from its effective date, so check the date before you rely on them.

What to check on a payslip while the grid is frozen

Four checks cover most of the disputes this gap creates:

1. The coefficient and seniority step on the payslip match the contract.
2. The base hourly rate is at least 12.31 EUR, even when the grid rate for that step is lower.
3. Equivalence hours appear at the 25% premium, and overtime at 50% above the threshold for the driver's category.
4. Allowances appear as separate lines and match the 2026 amounts in the table above.

Frequently asked questions

How much do truck drivers earn in France in 2026?

The legal floor is 12.31 EUR/h gross, or 1,867.02 EUR a month for 35 hours. With equivalence hours, a long-distance driver at 150M reaches about 2,424 EUR gross a month in the illustrative example above. Indicative market estimates run from about 25,000 EUR a year for regional work to about 34,000 EUR for international work.

Is the SMIC higher than the trucking pay scale in France?

For the hire rates of coefficients 110M to 138M, yes, by 0.17 to 0.22 EUR/h. After two years of seniority the grid is back above the SMIC by 0.02 to 0.07 EUR/h for those coefficients. Coefficient 150M is above the SMIC at every step.

What is the SMIC for a truck driver in France in 2026?

It is 12.31 EUR/h gross since 2026-06-01, which is 1,867.02 EUR gross a month for 35 hours. It applies to truck drivers exactly as it does to other employees. The convention minimum only matters when it is higher.

How are overtime hours paid for a long-distance driver?

Hours 36 to 43 of the week carry a 25% premium under the equivalence regime. From the 44th hour, overtime is paid at 50%. Short-distance drivers use the same two rates with thresholds of 39 and 40 hours.

What is the grand déplacement allowance in 2026?

It is 68.67 EUR for two meals plus one night away from home, and 52.31 EUR for one meal plus one night away. These amounts follow avenant n° 81, which raised allowances by 1% from 2026-01-01. They are expense allowances and not part of the hourly wage.

Will truck drivers in France get a pay rise after the October 2026 talks?

That is unresolved. Employers have offered 3.9% over 2024 to 2027 and 2.4% on frais de déplacement, and the session of 2026-10-13 ended without agreement. An offer does not become a pay rise until an accord is signed and extended.

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