I lived in Belgium almost 12 years and I always found their standards of driving appalling,including so called professionals many of whom couldn’t reverse onto a football pitch.I was told at the time that the introduction of a driving test was relatively recent.
These days I drive my car from Roscoff,Caen,Le Havre or Dieppe to Alicante 3 round trips a year.Generally speaking I find the spanish ok and that the french standard has improved immensely over the last few years.I respect urban speed limits and do 110 - 120 kph max.It’s been some years since I had any grief over my GB plate even in roadside checks.Have penalties for traffic offences become severe over the last few years in France?