Route nationale 12
Route nationale 12 (RN12) is a major French road that links Paris with Brittany and is part of the European highway network as E50. It runs about 570 kilometers. Much of the route has been upgraded to motorway standards, and old sections have been renumbered as RD912, RD812 and RD712. Between Mayenne and Rennes, the RN12 followed a different path until the 1950s; that older route became RN155 from Mayenne to Fougères and RN177 from Fougères to Rennes. The current RN12 mostly uses the newer alignment.
Starting southwest of Paris, the RN12 branches from RN10 near Trappes and continues west as a high‑speed road. It bypasses Dreux and heads southwest through northern Normandy, then toward Mortagne-au-Perche and the Perche forests, before entering the Mayenne region. It crosses the A28 near Alençon, passes Ernée and Fougères, and reaches Rennes, where it intersects major routes RN137, RN136 and RN24 and continues into Brittany as part of E50.
In Brittany, a historic rule prevents tolls on main roads, so the RN12 was upgraded to motorway standards but kept its RN number rather than becoming a new autoroute. The old route through Brittany is now RD712. The RN12 runs northwest from Rennes toward Dinan via RN176, then follows the coast past Saint‑Brieuc and Guingamp, climbs toward Morlaix and Landivisiau, passes Landerneau, and ends in Brest, a major Atlantic port. From Brest, the road reaches the city center.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:32 (CET).