Where can we find English-language newspapers in France?

Reader question: UK newspapers seem to be disappearing from our local tabac shops. Do you have tips on how to find them? 

In the first instance, we suggest you ask the tabac staff themselves – it may be that lower sales made them stop ordering them in, or a distribution issue. 

In the case of the former, you may be able to ask for copies of a newspaper to be ordered in for you personally. 

If you can find several locals interested, it may be easier to persuade the tabac to stock them again regularly. 

Otherwise, you can expand your search. Likely spots for the foreign press include international stations and airports. 

France Messagerie, a distribution company, has a free 'find a newspaper' service online. 

It allows you to enter your location and search for a newspaper or magazine title (including non-French titles) to see if they distribute copies to a shop near you. It also provides the option to buy digital versions of certain newspapers. 

We note, however, that it does not work for all titles and, when testing the service, we were unable to find British newspapers local to us in Nice – although we could find The New York Times.

If you still cannot find a physical version, check with the customer service department of the newspapers in question as to whether you could subscribe to receive copies in France, for example, you can have the Guardian’s weekly version delivered by airmail.

Finally, digital versions are available for most media, including digital versions of printed editions (as opposed to simply the online websites for the media).