The French telephone numbering plan is used in
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
, French
overseas department
The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...
s and some
overseas collectivities
The France, French overseas collectivities ( abbreviated as COM) are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the regions of France, French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French Overseas ter ...
.
Since 1996, Metropolitan France uses a ten-digit
closed numbering plan, where the first two digits denote a geographic area, mobile or non-geographic number.
* 01
* 02 Northwest France
* 03 Northeast France
* 04 Southeast France
* 05 Southwest France
* 06 Mobile phone services
* 07 Mobile phone services
* 08 Special phone numbers:
Freephone
A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number is free of charge, unless air-charges apply for mobile telephone service. A toll-free ...
() and shared-cost services
* 09 Non-geographic number (used by
voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...
services)
All geographic numbers are dialed in the ten-digit format, even for local calls. The
international access code is the
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU:
*
* is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...
's recommended 00.
When calling France from abroad, the
leading zero
A leading zero is any 0 digit that comes before the first nonzero digit in a number string in positional notation.. For example, James Bond's famous identifier, 007, has two leading zeros. Any zeros appearing to the left of the first non-zero dig ...
should be omitted: for example, to call a number in Southwest France, one would dial +33 5 xx xx xx xx. Telephone numbers are usually stated as a sequence of five digit-pairs, e.g., 0x xx xx xx xx–and not, for example, 0 xxx-xxx-xxx or others.
Overseas departments and collectivities have distinct country codes and different digit grouping formats.
Overseas departments and territories
The
French overseas departments ( or ) have separate
country codes
A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed.
The term ''country code'' frequently refe ...
from metropolitan
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, with
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
being assigned the code 262 while
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
,
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
and
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
were assigned the codes 590, 594 and 596 respectively. Until 1996, the use of the international access code 19 and country code was required for calls from metropolitan France.
[Le téléphone refait son numéro. Fin 1996, la numérotation passera à dix chiffres, sans le 16 et le 19](_blank)
, ''Libération
(), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'', 17 May 1995 For example, to call Guadeloupe from metropolitan France, a subscriber would dial 19 590 xxx xxx, 590 being the country code. This included the islands of
Saint Barthelemy and
Saint Martin, which later separated from Guadeloupe to become collectivities, although they still use the same country code. By contrast, calls to metropolitan France from the overseas departments only required the use of the trunk code 16.
However, under the new present French numbering plan, direct dialing was introduced for calls between the DOMs (including ) and metropolitan
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, requiring only the '0' to be dialed, with the country code being used as a geographical area code.
Despite this, the 33 country code was not adopted for calls to the DOMs from the rest of the world, because of technical difficulties with operators in neighbouring countries, for example, calls to
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
from
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
would have to be routed via metropolitan France, adversely affecting voice quality as well as increasing call costs.
In 2001, telephone numbers in the DOMs changed to the same ten-digit format as metropolitan France, with new prefixes beginning with the digit '6' being adopted for mobile phone services:
Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin
From France:
*Fixed phone line: 0 590 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: 0 690 xx xx xx or 0 691 xx xx xx
Outside France:
*Fixed phone line: +590 590 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: +590 690 xx xx xx or +590 691 xx xx xx
French Guiana
From France:
*Fixed phone line: 0 594 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: 0 694 xx xx xx
Outside France:
*Fixed phone line: +594 594 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: +594 694 xx xx xx
Martinique
From France:
*Fixed phone line: 0 596 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: 0 696 xx xx xx or 0 697 xx xx xx
Outside France:
*Fixed phone line: +596 596 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: +596 696 xx xx xx or +596 697 xx xx xx
Réunion
From France:
*Fixed phone line: 0 262 xx xx xx or 0 263 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: 0 692 xx xx xx or 0 693 xx xx xx
Outside France:
*Fixed phone line: +262 262 xx xx xx or +262 263 xx xx xx
*Mobile phone line: +262 692 xx xx xx or +262 693 xx xx xx
Others
Before 30 March 2007 the of
Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
used country code 269, shared with the
Comoros
The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...
:
*From France, including Mayotte: 0 269 xx xx xx
*From Comoros: xx xx xx
*Outside France and Comoros: +269 xx xx xx
On 30 March 2007 Mayotte adopted country code 262, used by Réunion, and a new numbering range was introduced for mobile phones:
*From France:
**Fixed phone line: 0 269 xx xx xx
**Mobile phone line: 0 639 xx xx xx
*Outside France:
**Fixed phone line: +262 269 xx xx xx
**Mobile phone line: +262 639 xx xx xx
Calls to
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( ), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, located near the Canada, Canadian prov ...
require only '0',
telephone country code
A telephone country code is a country-specific telephone number prefix for international direct dialing (IDD), a system for reaching telephone service subscribers in foreign areas via international telecommunication networks. Country codes are de ...
and the subscriber's six-digit number, e.g.:
*From France: 0 508 xx xx xx
*Outside France: +508 xx xx xx
Calls to and from the , however, require full international dialing, hence the international access code and country code must be used:
*Paris from New Caledonia: 00 33 1 xx xx xx xx
*New Caledonia from Paris: 00 687 xx xx xx
History
For many years, French subscribers' telephone numbers consisted of eight digits (including the one-digit area code 1 for all of Paris and its surrounding departments, or a two-digit area code from 20 to 99 for other metropolitan departments; this area code was dialed only after the trunk code 16). The territories of
Overseas France
Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 France, French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the E ...
all had their own local numbering plans and used their own country codes but no area codes, and calls between different territories or
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
required a dialing international call using the international call prefix 19 followed by the country code, area code, and subscriber number.
But that system began to run out of numbers in the 1980s, leading to the adoption of a new "eight-digit" numbering plan on 25 October 1985. On that date, France changed to a system of two zones, one for Paris and the surrounding ''Île-de-France'' and another for the other departments. Outside Paris, the old area code was incorporated into the subscriber's eight-digit number; for Paris, the area code 1 was retained, and a 4 was prefixed to seven-digit numbers, meaning that a subscriber's number could begin with 40, for example 4056 1873. For numbers in the ''Île-de-France'' surrounding Paris, the old codes 3x and 6x joined the old seven-digit numbers to become eight-digit numbers and were assigned to the Paris area code 1, with the trunk prefix 16 required for calls from the rest of France, followed by the area code 1 for Paris and the eight-digit number. To call the rest of France from
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, however, the trunk prefix 16 had to be dialed before the eight-digit number.
On 18 October 1996, this changed to the present "ten-digit" system (including the default one-digit leading trunk code 0), in which each call is dialed using all ten digits, this national scheme being also extended to cover Overseas France in a single area.
[Téléphone : 10 chiffres pour préparer l'arrivée de la concurrence et des nouveaux services](_blank)
, '' Les Echos'', 18 October 1996 Area codes were abolished, and since then France has had a closed numbering plan, where all local or national calls require dialing the leading trunk code.
Following liberalisation in 1998, subscribers (first deployed on land lines and rapidly extended to all mobile networks) could access different carriers by replacing the leading trunk code 0 (omitted from numbers when called from outside France) with another carrier selection code (one digit from 2 to 9, or four digits 16xx). For example, Cegetel required subscribers to dial 7; e.g., Paris 71 xx xx xx xx, instead of 01 xx xx xx xx. Similarly, the international access code using Cegetel would be 70 instead of 00 by replacing the first 0.
[Cegetel inaugure le premier service grand public concurrent de France Télécom](_blank)
, '' Les Echos'', 2 February 1998 Since then, the carrier selection code still exists, but carrier preselection (and number portability) is offered by default on all subscriber lines, and the one-digit carrier selection is rarely used. In addition, several important national operators merged, and the four-digit carrier selection only persists for subscribers of various international service providers (most of them for mobile telephony, but these carrier selection prefixes are often dialed internally by a terminal device and callers don't need to care about it, unless they want to select carriers for different services). Additionally, call fees no longer depend on distance in the French numbering plan, so carrier selection is used only for international calls.
The 09 prefix was introduced for non-geographic numbers and special services in September 2006 and older numbers such as 08 7x xx xx xx (used for VoIP in Internet boxes) were replaced by 09 5x xx xx xx (telephone service offered by
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...
Free, later followed by other French ISPs).
The national information service reached by dialing "12" was closed in 2005, leading to the creation of numerous new information services reached by dialing 118 xxx. They cost €3 per call, plus €3 per minute.
Defunct prefixes
Changed in 1996:
*16 - Long distance prefix - Changed to: 0
*19 - International prefix - Changed to: 00
The second dial tone was also removed. Dialing procedures now reflect
ETSI
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization operating in the field of Information and communications technology, information and communications. ETSI supports the de ...
and
ITU recommendations.
Andorra and Monaco
Until 17 December 1994,
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
formed part of the French numbering plan, with calls from France requiring the prefix 628, (or 16 628 from
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
).
Those from the rest of the world were made using +33 628, except from Spain, which were made using the prefix 9738.
[''Mediterranean Europe''](_blank)
, Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History
20th century
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
, 1995, page 104 On that date, the
principality
A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...
adopted the
telephone country code
A telephone country code is a country-specific telephone number prefix for international direct dialing (IDD), a system for reaching telephone service subscribers in foreign areas via international telecommunication networks. Country codes are de ...
376. Consequently, all calls from France to Andorra had to be dialled in international format, using the prefix 19 376. This was later changed to 00 376, along with the second French reform of 1996 to the newer "ten-digit" plan.
On 21 June 1996,
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
similarly adopted its own
telephone country code
A telephone country code is a country-specific telephone number prefix for international direct dialing (IDD), a system for reaching telephone service subscribers in foreign areas via international telecommunication networks. Country codes are de ...
377, replacing access from France (33 93).
Hydrographic Review
Volume 73, International Hydrographic Bureau, 1996, page 179
See also
* Local telephone area codes in France
References
External links
ARCEP: La numérotation
French official plan
French Phone system by Whitepages
*
{{Telephone numbers in Europe
Telephone numbers
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...