Route nationale

France at one time had some 30,500 km of routes nationales and publicly owned motorways, but this figure has decreased with the transfer of the responsibility for many routes to the départements so that by 2010 the total length of motorways and other national roads was around 21,100 km.

[1] The layout of the main trunk road network reflects France's centralizing tradition: the majority of them radiate from Paris.

In order to cover the country effectively, there are many other roads that do not serve Paris directly.

The system dates back to 16 December 1811, when Napoleon designated a number of routes impériales (imperial highways).

[2] In the 21st century, the French Government has downgraded many of the former routes nationales, such as the N7 from Paris to the Côte d'Azur, transferring responsibility for them to the départements.