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 is genuinely worth it, and usually it is not.
OnlineWho: You
3
Order fibre as soon as you have an address
Fibre coverage across Marseille is good and cheap. Installation takes one to three weeks and may need a technician visit. In the older Panier and Noailles buildings, what can be installed depends on the building.
OnlineWho: You
4
Ask about the building, not the street
Marseille has a great deal of pre-war and older stock where fibre depends on what has already been run into the building and on the co-ownership having agreed. Two flats on the same street can have different answers. Make it a viewing question if your work needs the connection.
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
Know that international routing here is genuinely good
Marseille is a major submarine cable landing point and a growing data centre hub. If you work with teams or infrastructure in Africa, the Middle East, India or South-East Asia, latency from here is materially better than from most of western Europe. It is a real technical advantage that almost no relocation content mentions.
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

Marseille is one of the internet's actual crossroads, and it shows in the latency.

A large share of the submarine cables connecting Europe to Africa, the Middle East and Asia land here, which has made the city a fast-growing data centre location. For anyone whose work involves round trips to Mumbai, Singapore, Dubai or East Africa, network performance from Marseille is measurably better than from Paris, London or Frankfurt. It is a genuine and under-advertised technical argument for the city.

Source: Arcep / community-reported

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.

Source: Arcep

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, which you hand to the new operator. They handle the switch and the old contract terminates automatically. Cancelling first loses the number permanently, and very few newcomers know the shortcode exists.

Source: Arcep

Fibre in an old Panier building depends on the co-ownership, not the postcode.

Much of Marseille's oldest housing predates any modern cabling and getting fibre into a specific flat can require the building's co-owners to have agreed to the installation. Coverage maps show the street as served while the flat is not. If a fast connection matters for your work, ask at the viewing what is actually installed.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a long 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 an older building without checking.
Paying a high monthly mobile bill in one of Europe's cheapest markets.
Overlooking the international routing advantage if your work depends on it.

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