SIM card for calling and data within France

When I visited France in December 2016, my son, who had been studying in Nantes for 4 months, took me to a shopping mall in Nantes. We went to the Free Mobil store and I purchased a sim card for my iphone 6. It cost 20 Euros and included unlimited calls and texts and 40 GB of data for 30 days. It was simple to install and activate and provided excellent service for my 3 week visit.

Two times ago I got an SRF(?) SIM at a small electronics shop, but I had to recharge at a Tabac/bar that sold their plan. I spent 30 for the card plus some minutes and data (I think it was 2 gb data). Later, I spent another 30 for more minutes and another 5 gb data, so 60 total for the trip with some minutes and data left over. I learned how to conserve data after I burned through the first 2.

I wasn't happy last time because it (the same SIM) didn't work right even after I went to a SRF store. I suspect it died after 6 months rather than a year but they never told me that.

I was planning to go with Orange this time.

I used another service in Spain. They gave me a choice of more free minutes and higher per minute costs (60 minutes then 20 cents a minute) afterward or less free minutes and lower per minute calls (20 minutes and 8 cents a minute). I chose the latter.

I'll be sure to check out what they offer before signing up. I thought Orange offered a monthly plan that included plenty of minutes and data (at least for me)?

If it were me, I would buy a used Nexus 5X on ebay, then open a Project Fi account and use that, instead of messing with French SIM cards. Then, when I returned, I woud sell my Nexus 5X on ebay.

https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#international-usage-1

Maybe too late, but Orange is the way to go. I did lots of research on this.

I plan on the Orange Card as well. I will use mostly for data but want some phone & text as well. I will also have my phone still on my verizon plan to keep it easy for folks back home to reach us.

I'll just mention that in 2015 I had a Boutique Orange SIM card with supposedly 30 days of unlimited calling and data. On the 5th or 6th day I couldn't make calls in France, though I could still call a toll-free US number and I could call the UK. I also kept getting an Orange recorded message saying I had used up my plan and I needed to provide my credit card number for more minutes or data or both (it was in French so I wasn't sure).

We were leaving France later that day so I never found out what the problem was.

Why I bought a 30-day plan when we were only staying in France for so few days... that's another story I won't bore you with.