Before you start

Passport, for a prepaid SIM
A French RIB, for most contract tariffs
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
A French address, for fibre installation

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid SIM on your passport on arrival
Available at the airport, in phone shops and in tabacs. Identity verification is required but a passport is enough. A French number in your first hours unlocks bank verification and appointment systems.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Move to a no-commitment contract once you have a RIB
French sans engagement tariffs are month-to-month and remarkably cheap for large data allowances. There is little reason to accept a long commitment unless a subsidised handset genuinely justifies it, and usually it does not.
OnlineWho: You
3
Order fibre as soon as you have an address
Fibre coverage across the métropole is good and prices are low. Installation takes one to three weeks and may need a technician visit.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check the building in the eighteenth-century stock
The pierre blonde buildings of the old centre are handsome and were not designed for cabling. Getting fibre into a specific flat can depend on what has already been run into the building and on the copropriété having agreed. Ask at the viewing if a fast connection matters to your work.
OnlineWho: You
5
Keep your number when you switch
Request your RIO code by calling a free shortcode from the line you want to port, then give it to the new operator, which handles the switch. Never cancel first — you lose the number.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Check coverage in the Médoc and along the coast
Urban coverage across the métropole is strong. The vineyards, the Landes forest and the Atlantic coast where you will spend weekends are patchier and the operators differ. Compare coverage maps for where you will actually go.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport, for prepaid registration
French RIB, for a contract
Justificatif de domicile, for fibre

Things most newcomers don’t know

French mobile is cheap in a way that surprises almost every arrival.

The entry of a disruptive fourth operator in 2012 triggered a price war whose effects never reversed, and France now has some of the lowest mobile tariffs in western Europe. Large-data plans with no commitment cost a fraction of the UK or German equivalent. Anyone paying a high monthly mobile bill here has simply not looked at what is available.

Source: Arcep

Sans engagement is the default worth choosing.

France's no-commitment tariffs are month-to-month, cheap and switchable, and they exist because of the market's competitive structure. A subsidised handset bundled into a two-year contract almost always costs more in total than buying the phone outright, and it removes your ability to switch when a better offer appears — which happens often here.

Source: community-reported

The RIO code is how you keep your number, and you request it from your own line.

Call the free shortcode from the phone you want to port and you are given a RIO code to hand to the new operator, which handles the switch and terminates the old contract automatically. Cancelling first loses the number permanently, and very few newcomers know the shortcode exists.

Source: Arcep

Fibre in the eighteenth-century centre depends on the building, not the street.

Bordeaux's UNESCO-listed core is largely pre-revolutionary stone, with heritage constraints on external works and copropriétés that must agree to installations. Coverage maps show the street as served while a specific flat is not. If your income depends on the connection, treat it as a viewing question rather than something to sort out afterwards.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a two-year commitment when no-commitment tariffs are cheap and switchable.
Cancelling your old service before requesting the RIO code and losing the number.
Assuming fibre is available in a listed eighteenth-century building without checking.
Paying a high monthly mobile bill in one of Europe's cheapest markets.
Choosing a network on urban performance without checking coastal and Médoc coverage.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.