France - reflective helmet stickers. Has anyone been stopped without them?

[Magnon]

Only applies to helmets bought in France.

[devonuk]

Many thanks for your replies guys!!

[tbird649]

I cant remember where i found it, but when I was looking at this silly rule, away from the people that want to sell you stickers, I found that if the helmet was purchased somewhere that the stickers are not required , ie the UK, then it is not a legal requirement to have them. I stuck some on mine anyway, not really wanting to have an argument in French with a French copper as to where I bought my helmet!

[paul_tim2000]

The application of this is exactly the same as the UK saying rear number plates are yellow, front white and then asking anyone from France (or elsewhere) to change their plates when driving in the UK.
Helmets must reach a minimum European safety standard but the reflective sticker will apply to either a) French residents or b) Helmets sold in France (I've not checked the details of the legislation) but cannot be applied to EU legal helmets used by residents of other jurisdictions on vehicles registered in another EU state.