Your driving licence is not ID and is of no relevance whatsoever unless you intend to drive a car. It is the law in France that foreign visitors carry with them the document which proves their right to be in the country. For someone from outside the European Union, that can only be a passport.

Yes, you absolutely need a valid passport to travel to France by car in 2026, especially if you are crossing from the UK or a non-Schengen country. For UK citizens, your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before your entry date and be valid for at least three months after your intended departure. With the full implementation of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) in 2026, all non-EU nationals must register biometric data (fingerprints and facial scans) at the border, whether at the Port of Dover or the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone. Even for those traveling between Schengen countries (like driving from Belgium to France), carrying a passport is a high-fidelity requirement for identity verification, as "temporary border controls" are frequently reinstated for security reasons. Additionally, in 2026, non-EU travelers will eventually need an ETIAS authorization, making the passport the central, high-fidelity document for all road-based cross-border travel into the French Republic.