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How to Make a Call
French telephone numbers have ten digits, each one beginning with a
two-digit prefix for one of the five telephone areas.
To place a call between any two points in France, simply
dial the 10-digit number. To help you know the location of the
number you are calling, here are the areas and their prefixes:
01
02
03
04
05
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Île-de-France (Paris area)
Northwest France
Northeast France
Southeast France and Corsica
Southwest France
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Local directory assistance may be accessed by dialing 12.
Toll-free numbers (numéro vert) begin with
the digits 08.00, often grouped as 0.800.
Using Public Phones
Public telephones are nearly all equipped for the TéléCarte,
an embedded-chip smart card available in 50-unit and 120-unit
denominations. Since few public phones accept coins, we recommend that
visitors obtain and carry a phone card for use in emergencies.
They are available in tobacco shops, post offices, offices of France
Télécom, and from newsagents.
Some credit cards can also be used (Visa, Mastercard/Eurocard).
Public telephones can be found in métro and train stations, in
airports, and on
TGV
and EuroStar trains, although the latter
only accept Visa, Mastercard, and Eurocard. Coin-operated phones
are sometimes found in in bars and restaurants. Note that
emergency numbers
and directory information services can be dialed without a card or coins.
Cellular Phones
Cellular phone numbers all begin with 06.
Phones can be rented from several companies for delivery or airport
pickup. Here are a few sources for
cellular telephone rentals.
International Calls
To call abroad from France first dial 00, then the country code, then the
telephone number. Here are a few country codes: Australia 61, United
Kingdom 44, Ireland 353, United States 1, Brazil 55, Canada 1, China 86,
Germany 49, Israel 972, Italy 39, Japan 81, Mexico 52, Portugal 351, Spain
34, Sweden 46, Switzerland 41.
To reach an international operator, dial 00.33.12, then the country code.
Incoming international calls must not include the zero digit of the prefix.
For example, the telephone number of the Paris Office of Tourism is
01.49.52.53.54. To dial this Paris number from London, dial
00.33.1.49.52.53.54. To dial the same number from Marseille,
dial 01.49.52.53.54. From the United States, dial 011.33.1.49.52.53.54.
Here are some
telephone calling
card access numbers.
Calling DOM-TOM Locations
Telephone numbers for French overseas departments
(DOM)
and territories
(TOM)
consist of six digits prefixed with a four-digit code:
Guadeloupe
Guyane
Martinique
Réunion
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
Mayotte
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0590
0594
0596
0262
0508
0269
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Telephone Rates
Free rate information is available at 08.00.06.19.19. When placing
calls from your hotel, it is advised to ask for rates at the
reception desk to avoid misunderstandings. As elsewhere, hotels usually
add a surcharge to phone rates.
Here are a few France Télécom peak-time rates for
international calls (updated September 2004):
North America
Japan
United Kingdom
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first 15 seconds
each additional minute
first 5 seconds
each additional minute
first 15 seconds
each additional minute
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0.11€
0.22€
0.11€
0.49€
0.11€
0.22€
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How to Make a Call