There ' s no law against it but there ' s no safety guarantees no sidewalks out of towns for example . There are clearly dangerous spots where there ' s no space on the sides of the road to make yourself safe and with very low visibility for drivers . I had to walk on some dpartementales this is what the D stands for roads and there were spots on which I felt exposed the walking conditions vary greatly from one road to another and even on different sections of the same road . If I were you I ' d look for alternative paths for pedestrians chemins de randonne for example which are much more enjoyable to walk on . if you can ' t avoid the D roads , use streetview in advance to check if there are spots where you won ' t feel safe .