Which French SIM card can I get for admin and government sites?

Reader Question: I was dismayed to learn LeFrenchMobile (offering prepaid French SIM cards without time limits) is to shut in June. Where can I find a similar service to allow me to log on to administration sites which only accept French numbers? A.L.

A review suggests you will either need to take out a French mobile subscription or to buy pre-paid cards and remember to activate them each month.

Free still offers a €2 a month subscription (plus around €10 handling charges when ordered), with limited data use outside France, which is probably the cheapest option overall.

Other providers have more expensive schemes with slightly larger data plans.

Orange, for example, has a sans engagement offer of €5.99 with two hours of calls and 100MB data a month, which mirrors that of its ‘low-cost’ Sosh brand.

Bouygues offers a prepaid card which can be valid for up to six months and costs €40.

A French telephone number may not always be required

You can also check whether the requirement for French telephone numbers has changed.

The impots.gouv.fr website has a guide in English on how to create a personal account.

Dating from 2022, it is aimed at people living abroad, not paying French income tax, but who have to pay other taxes, such as on property.

It involves completing an online form, but no phone number is required.

The form to open the account can be found here.

You will need to provide your civil status, your foreign postal address and a copy of your ID.

Once the information has been checked you will be able to set up an account using only your tax number and date of birth.

With impots.gouv.fr access, you can then create a FranceConnect account, which allows easy log-in to other admin sites, such as the Ameli health site.

Read more

14 things you can do at a tabac in France apart from buy cigarettes

Tips on how to avoid mobile phone roaming charges when in France