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Links for Expats Living in France
 

 

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Post & Telecommunication

La Poste. French post. Order stamps online.
Mon timbramoi. Design your own real stamps. A service from French post.

Multitel. International Telephone adapters.
Teleadapt. Adapters for foreign telephone plugs.
Minitel. Access the Minitel network through the Internet.
Iminitel. Free software to access Minitel at high speed from a PC.

Landline telephone operators

Note: When comparing minute rates between the operators, then don't forget to count the initial charges that are sometimes well hidden. Most fixed operators bill per second, but there are usually other charges:
Connection charge: Fixed charge per call. This could cost as much as a 10 minute call.
Crédit temps: "Credit time". The classic French system of charging a fixed amount for a specified minimum call duration before switching to second billing.
Higher initial second rate: A recent method to look cheap. Calls may be billed per second from the first second, but the seconds during the first minute are more expensive.

Teleconnect. "Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Neuf Cegetel. Large operator.
Alice.
Tele2.
Universal Telecom. Low-cost operator. One of the cheapest, but beware the connection charge.
France Télécom. The State operator. Reliable quality. Customer service is as mediocre as you would expect from a formerly public company.
Budget Telecom. Low-cost operator. Occasional drop-outs experienced. Inconvenience: You must charge your account in advance. Internet-based management.
Telerabais. Call to European and other destinations at local rates without subscription. Very cheap, but you pay for the time it takes to dial the number, including if the number called is occupied. Inconvenience: You have to dial a 10-digit number before every international call. In practice, the only user feedback I have heard of was that it doesn't work from public telephones.

Mobile telephone operators

Add-on operators for cheap international calls

These operators require that you first have a cellphone operator from which you call the add-on operator's server in France. The add-on operator then bills you for the international call instead of the cellphone operator. Because the traditional cellphone operators charge an arm and a leg for international calls, there are savings to be had if you regularly phone abroad from your French mobile while in France.

Teleconnect. "Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Vonroz. Fixed monthly prices for unlimited calls. Note, you have to pre-store each number abroad on their system before you can call a number.
MobileGlobe. Beware that the savings they advertise do not include the cost of the mobile call to their server. They charge in steppings of a minute at a time (hidden in their T&C). One headline claims it works from abroad, which is incorrect and contradictory to what they say elsewhere. You must prepay into an account - which will be cleared by them if you don't use the service for a few months. They reserve the right to modify their prices at any time without notice. That is illegal under European and French consumer law.

The Physical Networks

There are 3 physical, independent networks in France. Orange and SFR offer the best cover. Whether the SFR or Orange network suits you best depend on local conditions. SFR provides the best cover in TGV trains while only Orange covers the whole of Monaco. Orange generally seems to provide a more complete cover of the territory. If you have a bad signal where you are, a swap to another network may solve the problem. If you have signed a contract with an engagement preventing you from cancelling the first 12 or 24 months (typical if a phone is included) and you find out that you don't have a signal at home, then you are entitled to cancel the contract anyway, but you must act quickly and send the cancellation by recorded letter with acknowledgement of receipt. When choosing an operator, take into account which physical network they use. You could ask neighbours which network gives them an acceptable signal. Roaming on another physical network than the one you're attached to is impossible in France. Only if you have a foreign SIM card can you roam between the French networks, depending on the agreements between the operators.

On the following three sites, you can study your local cover for the three physical networks:
Orange: http://couverture-reseau.orange.fr/france/netenmap.php
SFR: www.sfr.fr/assistance/reseau-sfr-france/
Bouygues: www.couverture.bouyguestelecom.fr/eci_11/accueil/index.html
Having compared these maps with two real situations of weak or failling network cover, I get the impression that Orange's map is realistic while SFR's map is optimistic.

Virtual operators that rent their network (MVNO)

In French, the English term MVNO - Mobile Virtual Network Operator - has been retained. They are also known as opérateurs virtuels

Virgin. Richard Branson expands in France. Rents its network from Orange. Virgin has interesting prices for low consumption users.
Teleconnect. "Anglopack" offer from Budget Telecom, all in English. They offer landline, mobile and ADSL. No dégroupage.
Auchan. Rents its network from SFR. Auchan is a major supermarket chain.
Breizh. Rents its network from Orange.
Carrefour. Rents its network from Orange. Carrefour is a major supermarket chain.
Coriolis. Rents its network from SFR
Debitel. Rents its network from SFR. Bought by SFR 2 February 2008.
Fnac. Rents its network from Orange. Fnac is a major media store chain.
Neuf. Rents its network from SFR
NRJ Rents its network from Orange starting mid-2008. It formerly used SFR. Existing clients will not be switched to Orange.
Tele2. Rents its network from Orange. December 2005: The telecoms regulator has received a large number of complaints about this operator's incorrect handling of new lines where the client wanted to keep his existing mobile number. In many cases, they don't send you the new SIM card in time before your old subscription expires, so you risk having your mobile line cut if you transfer to Tele2.
Ten-mobile. Unlimited e-mail from your mobile for 6 € per month. Rents it network from Orange. Company created by Tele2 France's former director Jean-Louis Constanza.
Transatel. Multi-country virtual operator. Mainly for business.

Operators with their own networks

These operators are known for lousy customer service, illegal practices and were given record-high fines for price-fixing and carving up the market between them on the 30 November 2005. 

Bouygues. They also handle subscriptions sold as Universal Mobile.
Orange. They also handle subscriptions sold as M6 Mobile.
SFR They also handle subscriptions sold as NRJ Mobile.

Brand name offers from the physical operators

These offers are not virtual operators. The brands mainly target young clients.

M6 is provided by Orange.
Universal is provided by Bouygues.

Internet Service Providers

Moved here

Radio, TV & Newspapers

For expat publications, please see expat resources.

Tvradioworld: French radio stations on the Internet.
Radio France.
Noos. Cable TV. (November 2001: Noos severely criticised for bad customer service, operational problems and more by a major consumer organisation). Note: The vast majority of the channels they broadcast are French.
TF1. French TV channel 1.
France 2. French TV channel 2.
France 3. French TV channel 3.
Canal +. French TV Canal Plus.
Arte. French TV Arte.
M6. French TV channel 6.
Télésatellite. Satellite TV magazine.
Le Figaro newspaper.
Lycos.
Yahoo France.
Le Monde newspaper.

Electricity & Gas Providers

Note: Until 2007, only professionals registered with a SIRET number are allowed to choose their electricity provider. If your consumption is partially private and partially professionnal, then you are allowed to use an alternative provider.

Information
CRE (Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie). The energy regulator.

Nationwide
Direct Energie. Problems experienced with customer service, and their phone number is charged at 0.34 € per minute. Electricity only.
EDF/GDF. The state company. Electricity and gas.
Electrabel. Electricity and gas.
Électricité de Strasbourg. Electricity only.
Endesa. Electricity only.
Gaz Électricité de Grenoble. Electricity and gas.
Poweo. Electricity and gas.
Sorégies. Electricity and gas.
UEM – Usine d’électricité de Metz. Electricity only.

Regional providers (the numbers indicate the départements where they are)
28: GEdia. Electricity and gas.
28: Régie du syndicat électrique intercommunal du Pays chartrain (RSEIPC). Electricity only.
57: Régie d’électricité de Bitche. Electricity only.
60: SICAE Oise. Electricity only.
67: Gaz de Barr. Electricity and gas.
68: Synergie SAS (e-mail address; no known website). Electricity only. Tel. 03 89 89 76 40.
74: Régie d’électricité de Seyssel. Electricity and gas.
74: Régie électrique de Thones. Electricity only.
76: Régie d'électricité d'Elbeuf. Electricity only.
79: Ouest Énergie. Electricity only.
80: SICAE de la Somme et du Cambraisis. Electricity only.

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