A taxi driver gave a bizarre excuse to officers after he was caught running a red light in Salford.
The cabby told police that 'you can do that in France' when he was spotted ignoring the light to turn left in Eccles.
Officers said they explained to the driver that 'Eccles is not in France'.
Police posted about the incident on the GMP Eccles Facebook page.
A traffic offence report was issued to the offender, they said.
The Facebook post, put up at 7.30am on Wednesday, said: "Taxi driver witnessed deliberately driving through traffic light on red to turn left in Eccles.
"When stopped his excuse was 'You can do that in France....'
"Officers explained Eccles is not in France and TOR issued (in English)."
The force added a hashtag '#pasd'excuse', which the Manchester Evening News understands means 'no excuse'.
The RAC website has information on the traffic light system in France.
It says: "If a red light is accompanied by a yellow arrow, you may proceed in the direction indicated by the arrow, provided you give way to vehicles travelling in that direction, as well as to pedestrians."
