Unfortunately this advice falls somewhat short of the facts.

The law does not allow you to use a car for 364 days at all, at the very maximum you could keep it in Corsica/France (one and the same for this purpose) for 6 months in any 12 before being obliged to register, this is EU law not French. Leaving France will not 'reset' the clock.

If you take the time to understand the process and gather up the necessary paperwork registering is not a PITA at all.

Once the vehicle has arrived in France, you must register it and obtain a carte grise (certificat d'immatriculation). You are allowed one month in which to obtain the carte grise, four months if your vehicle requires a single vehicle approval inspection. In the case of a trailer/caravan, if its gross weight is under 500kg then it does not need to be registered and it only needs to display the number plate of the towing vehicle.

You apply for the carte grise through your préfecture (or in some local cases, at the sous-préfecture) by completing a Demande de certificat d'immatriculation and producing the documents listed below:

* Passport

* Proof of address, eg utility bill.

* Vehicle registration document (or export certificate if the registration document has been retained by the original issuing authority).

* Import tax certificate - If your vehicle is currently registered in another EU member state, then you will need a 'quittus fiscal' which you can obtain from your local tax office on production of the vehicle registration document and proof of address. If the vehicle is being imported from outside the EU, then instead, you will need the 846A certificate which you will already have obtained from French Customs. Not required for trailers.

* Certificate of conformity. Note you will probably need this for the CT

* Contrôle technique certificate - required for motor vehicles over four years old. Not required for motorcycles or trailers.

* Proof of ownership - if the vehicle registration document is in your name, then no further proof is required. If you have bought the vehicle from someone else to import here, then you will need to produce an invoice/receipt issued by the person named on the registration document. For a trailer, an invoice/receipt is required.

Once you have presented the above documents and paid the préfecture registration fee, you will be issued with a provisional registration certificate which you must produce to get your new number plates made up. Your carte grise will arrive in the post within a few days.

Finally, if the vehicle was registered in the UK, you must notify the DVLA that the vehicle has been permanently exported by sending them the tear-off export slip from the V5C registration document.

See, simples