Talk:France/@comment-80.215.178.62-20150519141913/@comment-24682153-20150519162134

OK: Although the French users of this forum seem to be quite ignorant about what has been written before, I try to answer once it again, as I understand the frustration about the high rates on prepaid SIM cards in France.

1.) This is a prepaid SIM card forum. Prepaid has some advantages to travellers that have been mentioned before. We normally don't list contracts (= forfaits).

2.) Contracts have a lot of disadvantages. You need to know how to comply, how to sign in, how and when to sign out and so on.... Only in a very few countries like Israel or France, we actually list contracts, even if contracts normally give a better rate.

3.) The contracts listed need to give the possibility to be terminated anytime (or at the end of each month) by free will and a way to sign off. This makes them comparable to prepaid. Now, all forfaits sans engagement fulfill this criteria. That's why France is one of the very few countries, contracts are listed at all.

4.) The back side is that data rates on prepaid cards are extremely high in France, as almost everybody in this country is in some kind of contract, as they can be discontinued very easily. To acknowledge this development, we actually list some of them.

5.) The other problem with contracts is, that they are always linked to a payment system like a bank account or credit card and sometimes even to a residency. The telecommunication companies want to be sure to get their monthly rate (esp. if postpaid).

6.) This is exactly the problem in France right now: Bouygues, Be&You, Sosh, Simyo and many more may have great rates on forfaits, but they won't let you sign a contract, if you are not French! Got it?

7.) Of course, la France isn't xenophobic and they don't discriminate you because you are non-French :-) But you need to have a French "carte bancaire" even if it's called VISA or Master issued only by a French bank. C'est ca. And you can't change that.

8.) 99% of the non-French visitors obviously don't have a French bank account or credit card. So these offers are inaccessible to them. And to get one is quite pricey and need some effort.

9.) Why should we list offers almost no NON-FRENCH person can get hold of? We don't this in any other country.

10.) At least one international accessible payment system (or cash) is a prerequisite to be listed. I think this rule makes sense, as this forum is for international visitors.

'''To cut it short: Why should we be "fair" to Bouygues adding their contract to the list, when they say: F*ck off, you are German, American..... we don't let you in our contract. '''I think the frustration will be even higher about France, when people read the rates they can't get, because the are "foreign" :-(

Only very few operators have a slightly different approach. JoeMobile accepted some non-French bank cards, but they have been closed now. SFR still accepts interntl. AmEx and Free interntl. credit cards at their automated dispensers in their shops. This was confirmed and their offers are listed.

All other operators are welcome to open their contracts to foreigners, they will be listed as soon as there is a verified way to get them. In my comment directly below here I hinted a solution by getting a local French prepaid credit card and a local French postal address (if you don't stay in the country), but this is very expensive and time-comsuming too. But you will need these, if you want to be on a French contract (forfait).