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Buying cell phones in Paris

Posted by (Edmonds, WA) on

My wife and I are traveling to France in October. We will be going to different destinations on some days and want to be able to reach each other by calling or texting. We currently have Straight talk cell phones and I have not read anything positive about getting international calling and texting options added to that service. (Lesson here being you get what you pay for apparently. But I don't have any problems with it in the states.)

I want to keep my US cell phone with it's SIM card for email and other usage while in France, including calling and texting via Whatsapp when I have a wifi signal. So replacing the SIM card isn't an option I'm interested in. Plus it's a Google Pixel 4a which has it's own issues that I don't want to rely on in another country, but I've gotten used to those quirks in the US. (Which is another topic for a different forum.)

I'm trying to find out how to pick up two phones when we arrive in Paris to use during our trip there so we can stay in contact when one or both of us aren't near a wi-fi signal. Preferably a simple smart phone that we could use apps on.

We'll be in France for 2 weeks and staying in Paris, Aix and Nice during that time. We'll be staying in VRBO's so no concierge at a hotel to help us out with this. We'll be in the Marais district while in Paris, near the Picasso museum.

From what I've read online France requires an ID to get a cell phone.

We're not planning any more trips to Europe before 2024 so looking for a good short term option. I'm happy to pay a little more to get a reliable setup then worry about saving a few Euros.

I've searched through the forum but haven't found any recent posts (within the last two years) about getting a cell phone for short term use in France. I suspect anything older than two years might have out of date info in the ever rapidly changing world of technology.

My questions are:

  1. I've read online that an ID is required in France to purchase a cell phone. Can I get two cell phones using just my information or would my wife need to come to a store with me? (She has mobility issues so if I can do it all that would be ideal.)

  2. I've also read online that I'd be better off going to one of the main carrier stores vs. buying from a convenience store. Wondering if that is true?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions and reading through my long winded post.

Posted by
10198 posts

Each person getting a phone needs i.d. French law is written in such a way as to try to keep terrorists from buying burner phones that can't be traced -- that is why you need a passport to buy a SIM card (or a phone and sim card).

Posted by
92 posts

No need to buy a phone in Paris. Ask around among friends and family. You'll be surprised at how many phones people have lying around they don't use. Currently, my wife has the new version iPhone SE and I have a Motorola Power G. But sitting in my desk drawer are 2 iPhone 5s and an iPhone 4. All work just fine. All were used in France and the UK our last trip in 2018.
I top them up with the charger every month or so.

So there are lots of perfectly good phones lying around friends or relatives would lend you or give you for nothing. As for SIM cards, Orange is easy and there are SIMs available online. You can now get E Sims, no physical card at all. So ask around and see what you come up with.

In the event you land in Paris and need SIMs, just passport and hotel address are all I have ever been asked for.

Posted by
692 posts

You may find more use for an unlocked cell phones purchased or borrowed in the United States. Then you can obtain SIM cards with talk text data.

Posted by
81 posts

Free does a very basic mobile plan with limited data, 2 hours of calling included, unlimited texts that's only 2 euros for a month (https://mobile.free.fr/fiche-forfait-2-euros). You'd need to buy SIM cards from them which are 10 euros each, but if you have old phones you can use, it's a cheap option. (Cancel any time, but you may have to sign up for automatic billing.) There are several Free stores around Paris - your closest would be at Les Halles (https://www.free.fr/boutiques/). I suspect probably one of the staff could speak English if that would be useful. And - I've never tried, but I'd be very surprised if they required two separate IDs to get two phones.

Posted by
35 posts

Kim - Thanks for the info. I knew they needed an ID, but I was wondering if I can get two phones with just my ID? As long as they have someone to track it back to do you know if they will let you buy more than one?

Clawssmith - My presumption is I can probably get more than one, but I'd like to confirm before getting there so I know if my wife would need to go to a store with me. Trying to avoid having to make more than one trip to get the phones or making her go if she doesn't need to be there. And thanks for the info on the Free network option! I'm going to look into that one.

Posted by
2703 posts

  1. you may purchase as many phones are you like with your ID.

  2. the advantage in purchasing a SIM from a boutique is that boutiques can assist if you have configuration problems.

Email configuration and use has nothing to do with any specific SIM. Same with VoIP services such as Whatsapp. Once an account is set up and properly configured, you can use it with any SIM.

Posted by
4853 posts

You can easily buy unlocked quad band phones on Amazon and similar, so you have one when landing.

There's an electronics chain called FNAC which is like Best Buy, they are plentiful and could probably help you with such matters as well.

Posted by
240 posts

If you use Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp or one of those wifi based systems, you won't even need a SIM - as long as you can find good wifi at your hotel/train/McDonalds... You can even use your American phone in Airplane Mode. As a few have suggested, I would seriously look into getting a cheapish phone here in NA from Amazon or wherever, rather than trying to deal with French bureaucracy and fussy rules - charming and endearing as they may be. All you need is one stuffy, stick-in-the-mud rule maniac, and your day is ruined.

Posted by
38 posts

I borrowed a friend's old iPhone for a trip, so while I had two phones, it worked great. I used Airalo to get an e-Sim and didn't have to fuss with a physical SIM. Was inexpensive. Only the relatively newer phones can handle an e-Sim, so be sure to check out the phone features/limits before going that route.

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