Country code: 33. Card-only telephones are common, with pre-paid cards bought from post offices and tabacs; coin boxes are being phased out throughout the country. International calls are cheaper between Mon-Fri 1900-0800 and all day Sat-Sun. Calls can be received at all phone boxes showing the sign of a blue bell.

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is excellent.

Public access is available at Internet cafes in most cities.

Stamps can be purchased at post offices and tabacs. Post normally takes a couple of days to reach its destination within Europe.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1900, Sat 0900-1200. In smaller towns and villages, post offices may close earlier and at lunch, while in Paris the main office is open 24 hours, but only to send mail in the evenings.

France enjoys a free press and has more than 100 daily newspapers (‘quotidiens'), including an increasing number of free newspapers. Most newspapers are in private hands and are not linked to political parties. State-run Radio France runs services for the domestic audience, French overseas territories and foreign audiences. France's international broadcasters have a significant audience abroad. Radio France Internationale is one of the world's leading international stations and its Arabic-language Radio Monte Carlo Moyen Orient service, available on mediumwave (AM) and FM in many Middle East countries, has a large audience.

• Daily newspapers include Le Monde, Libération, France-Soir, Le Parisien and Le Figaro.
• The main English-language daily is the International Herald Tribune.
• Outside the Ile-de-France, however, these newspapers are not as popular as the provincial press.
• International newspapers and magazines are widely available, particularly in the larger cities.

• France 2, France 3, France 5 are national, public channels.
• TF1 and M6 are national, commercial channels.
• Arte is a cultural channel originally launched by French and German public channels.
• La Chaîne Info is a rolling news channel.
• TV5 is an international French-language channel and Canal Plus is a national, subscription channel.
• International cable and satellite channels are available.

• Radio France Internationale (RFI) is an international broadcaster, available via shortwave and numerous FM relays worldwide.
• Europe 1 is a major commercial, news and entertainment station.
• RTL is a major commercial station, with a mix of speech and music programmes.