Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Registrant Name	FLAMEL TECHNOLOGIES SA
Entity Central Index Key	0001012477
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	FLML
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	41,241,254