Phoning Home

Recently, two readers wrote letters asking me how I went about getting a mobile phone on my most recent vacation in France. Consequently, my husband has been saying since I started this column that I should write something about French phone use. So due to popular demand (of sorts), I will impart to you my knowledge of using phones in France. Between my husband and myself, I believe we can give you, the expat and/or tourist consumer, a pretty accurate outline of phones in France. First, the basics: Phone use in France starts with actual French phone numbers. If you are physically in France, it consists of 10 numbers, a two-digit “area code”, followed by eight additional numbers. When relating a French telephone number, always say two numbers at a time. 01-39-14-03-54 is; zero-one, thirty-nine, fourteen, zero three, fifty-four. Cell phones always start with the numbers “06”. If you are not in France, the universal international call number must be dialed, (011), the country code for France (33) and the zero from the “area code” is dropped. In addition, there are “green” numbers and “blue” numbers that all start with “0800” in place of the area code. “Green numbers” are free, while “Blue numbers” carry a small per minute charge. To procure a “land line” phone in France, one needs (of course) a domicile and a utility bill with the renter/owners name. If phone payments are to be deducted directly from a checking account something called a RIB, which comes with your checkbook, must be presented as well. When we lived in France, at least one phone had to be a “France Telecom” phone so all the phones would work properly. Basically, one just goes to the local France telecom office, rents or buys a phone, signs a contract, and voilà, you’re in business! For phoning home (to the States), there are “callback” services, which often times are substantially less expensive than what is offered by France Telecom (look in any expat publication, such as FUSAC, or Paris Express for companies offering this service). Please be aware, there are many seemingly good deals to join these, but the quality varies (in terms of dropped calls and/or fuzzy reception). Also, please ensure the contract is clearly understood before signing up. Other essential telephone gear for an expat or tourist would be a telephone card. For the tourist, a “smart” telephone card is essential to using a phone booth or cabine telephonique, which are 100% owned by France Telecom. For expats, it is a good card to carry in case of an emergency, when a phone needs to be accessed. Unlike the US, in France the phone booths have phones with a slot the size of a credit card, not coin slots. In these slots go the telecartes, or “smart cards” with a gold-colored computer chip embedded in the top. They come in 50 (petite) or 120 (grande) units translating roughly from 7.41€ to 14.74€. You may purchase these anywhere from the airports, train & metro stations, post offices, tabacs, phone stores, and magazine kiosks (Basically, anywhere with the “Telecarte en vente ici” sign carries them). For rate information, see France Telecom’s webpage at France Telecom. To use these cards, pick up the receiver (decrochez), insert your card (wherein the units remaining will show on the display panel), make your call, and then hang up (racrochez). The display should show how many units used during the call. Calls may be made to anywhere in the world with these cards. If you are in a pinch and have no phone card, you may use any “smart” credit card (credit cards with the gold-colored chip embedded in the top) to make your calls from a phone booth. Be advised that calls using a credit card (or carte bleu) are substantially more expensive than using a telephone card. If staying in a hotel, avoid pricey hotel phone rates by purchasing a pre-paid phone card. Pre-paid phone cards can be used in any non-pay-phone (some are accepted by phone booths), and cell phones to make local, long distance, and/or international calls at reduced rates. They may be purchased at the airport, train or metro stations, electronic stores (such as FNAC and Darty), magazine kiosks and telephone stores. Prepaid phone cards work by rubbing off the strip on the back of the card with a coin, and then dialing a special access code and PIN number along with the destination phone number. Minutes are deducted from the card while connected to the other party. There are as many different prepaid phone cards as there are colors in the dusk sky, so please check the rates you are paying. Some cards are a combination of local, long distance domestic (in France), and/or international, or they may be just local, or long distance or domestic. Some phone cards are “rechargeable” by giving them your credit card number. Please be aware of what you are buying by reading the fine print. In addition, some hotels charge a connection fee for prepaid phone card calls, so make sure of the rules to avoid surprises at check out. In next week’s column, I will discuss cell phone use and some useful phone numbers that may come in handy during stays in France. Until next week, Cat [email protected] asks, I have tried many places and teachers and still do not understand or speak French after 2 years. Do you know a good school and or teacher. Please reply June Schumacher Dear Ms. Schumacher, Does Cat detect a hint of exasperation in your letter? Please, I know how hard it is to learn French, but it is definitely not worth losing sleep over! And guess what else? It comes eventually; it just takes a bit of perseverance and/or creativity. First of all, I’m not sure from your letter where you are, in France, or a French speaking country, or in the US. If you are in the US, it will be an uphill battle, as everyone speaks English here, and not French. If you are in France, or a French speaking country,…