In order to get a residential phone service in France, dial 1014 and ask for information including the address of you local France Telecom agency (Agence France Telecom). The call is free.

Before going to the agency, check to see if there is a telephone socket in your home. An existing socket will facilitate the connection of your line. The name and phone number of your previous occupant, if you known, will also help the France Telecom sales representative whom you will see. The representative will ask you for identification such as your passport; and proof of your address, such as your lease or your EDF contract or bill.

You will have the choice to rent or buy your telephone (and answering machine and fax) at your France Telecom agency or by going to visit a phone dealer.

If you don’t have any socket in your accommodation, FT will usually install the first two sockets free, unless major installation work is needed for the second socket. The price for setting up a line and getting a phone number is about 45 €.

After the minimum call charge (crédit temps) of 0.11 € excluding VAT (19.6%), calls are billed per second based on the following tariffs:

	Minimum call charge duration	Peak rate per minute	Reduced rate per minute
Local rate	180s	0.04€	0.02€
National call	39s	0.06€	0.12€

Charge rate periods are: