Before you start

A valid residence permit and a French address
Your foreign licence, with a sworn translation if not in French
A vehicle registration document, for Crit'Air
An ANTS account for the licence exchange

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your issuing state has a reciprocity agreement
France exchanges licences only with states it has an agreement with, and for federal countries the agreement is often with individual states or provinces. Two Americans from different states can have completely different answers. Check the published list before assuming.
OnlineWho: YouBefore the one-year window closes
2
Apply within one year of your residence permit starting
The window runs one year from the date your first residence permit takes effect, not from arrival. Miss it and you take the French test — code and practical, in French — regardless of experience.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 1 year of the permit's start date
3
Submit the exchange through ANTS
Online, with a sworn translation of your licence, proof of residence and identity documents. Your foreign licence is surrendered when the French one is issued.
OnlineWho: You
4
Order a Crit'Air sticker from the official site
Ordered from the government service and posted to you, which takes days. Beware lookalike commercial sites charging several times the real fee for the same document.
OnlineWho: You
5
Try the tram and the bike network before buying anything
Bordeaux has four tram lines, a large bike-share system, a flat compact centre and a pedestrianised core. It is one of the easier French cities to live in without a car, and central parking is scarce and expensive enough that ownership is an active choice rather than a default.
In personWho: You
6
Use the trains for the weekends instead
Arcachon is under an hour by train, Saint-Émilion is direct, and Paris is just over two hours. The things a car would normally buy you at weekends here are all on the rail network, which is unusual among French cities this size.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and a sworn translation
Residence permit
Justificatif de domicile
Passport
Vehicle registration document, for the Crit'Air application

Things most newcomers don’t know

The one-year clock runs from your residence permit, not from your arrival.

The window to exchange a non-EU licence is one year from the date your first titre de séjour takes effect. People count from when they landed and discover too late that the only remaining route is the full French test, in French, through an auto-école, at a cost well into four figures. Diarise the date the moment your permit is issued.

Source: service-public.fr

For federal countries the agreement is per state, not per country.

France's reciprocity arrangements with the United States, Canada and others are concluded state by state or province by province. A licence from one American state may be exchangeable and one from the neighbouring state not. The list is published and specific, and this is the most misunderstood point about French licence exchange.

Source: service-public.fr — échange d'un permis de conduire étranger

The weekend destinations are all on the train, which removes the usual argument for a car.

In most French cities the case for owning a car is the countryside at weekends. Here the Bassin d'Arcachon is under an hour by frequent train, Saint-Émilion has a direct service, and the Atlantic beaches are reachable by rail and bus. It also means you can taste wine properly rather than nominating a driver, which is not a trivial consideration in this particular region.

Source: SNCF TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Buy the Crit'Air sticker from the official site and nowhere else.

The genuine sticker costs a few euros from the government service. A cluster of lookalike commercial sites charge many times that for the same document and rank well in search results. There is exactly one official source.

Source: certificat-air.gouv.fr

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting the one-year exchange window from arrival rather than from the permit's start date.
Assuming a country-level reciprocity agreement when France concludes them state by state.
Buying a Crit'Air sticker from an unofficial reseller at several times the price.
Buying a car before testing whether the trams and the regional trains already cover your week.
Renting a central flat with a car and no included parking.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.