handicapped parking permit, France

No.

I'm not evern sure how useful a handicapped parking permit would be for a casual tourist in Europe. Perhaps those who know France better than I can comment further, but the only places I ever see handicapped parking spots are usually at motorway rest stops and large stores on the outside of towns and cities. For most of the cultural sites that tourists tend to visit, if there is a car park at all, it usually sits recessed at somewhat of a distance from the attraction. So unless you plan a lot of shopping trips to Carrefour Hypermarchées, I doubt you'll find too many circumstances where a handicapped permit would prove useful.