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The French mail system, called 'La Poste,' delivers mail throughout France and even allows you to deliver a registered letter through the Internet. A noticeable difference in France is that La Poste prefers the use of clear capital letters on envelopes. Get your hands on a customizable France postcard from Zazzle. Find a large selection of sizes and shapes for your postcard needs! Post-it® notes and more! Wrapping Paper Gift Bags Gift Tags Stickers & Labels Tissue Paper Gift Boxes Ribbon.
Sending postcards and letters from France
1. French domestic postage rates at a glance
Inland domestic postage within France - 2020
There are 3 rates for letters up to 250 grammes, and two for letters up to 3 kg.
The standard rates for letters up to 20 grams are:
- First-class or priority rate : 1.16 € (1 priority stamp)
- Lettre verte rate: 0.97 € (1 lettre verte stamp)
- Ecopli rate: 0.86 € (1 Ecopli stamp)
- First-class or priority rate : 2.32€ - (2 priority stamps)
- Lettre verte rate: 2 lettre verte stamps = 1.76 €
- Ecopli rate: 1.72 € - (2 Ecopli stamps)
Note: the 20g - 50g rate has been suppressed,
French Post Box
purportedly in order to simplify the system.2. French international postage rates at a glance
Below you will find the main international air-mail postage rates for France, and the cheapest - or rather, least expensive - rates for sending parcels from France.
For all other postal rates (notably pre-paid envelopes, recorded delivery, heavier items), it is best to visit a local post office.
It is advisable to include an air-mail sticker on international mail, though this is not essential. Virtually all international mail within the European Union is sent by airmail unless surface mail is faster.
Last collections from mail boxes in urban areas are usually around 4 p.m., but later from main post offices. In rural areas, letter boxes are often emptied just once a day, frequently before midday. Stamps can be bought in post offices, but often also from 'tabacs', or tobacconists selling postcards.2.1. Postcards and simple letter rates from France 2020
How much does it cost to send a postcard abroad from France ?| Destination | Cost: |
| All countries worldwide (same price everywhere) | €1.40 |
How much does it cost to send a letter up to 20 gm from France ?
| Destination | Cost (airmail) |
| All countries worldwide (same price everywhere) | €1.40 |
2.2. Documents and heavier letters
Take care ! Sending International packages from France
La Poste's postal rates are complex , and information is not always clear - not even to all post-office staff.By shopping around, you may be able to get rates 50% cheaper than La Poste's rates, for tracked delivery.
It is a good idea to check rates online before taking a parcel or package to a post office.
For alternative offers, see shop around below
How much does it cost to send heavier international mail from France?
(for books & brochures, see below)There is only one tariff category for letters : it is called 'priority international letter'. There is no second-class or economy rate, nor surface mail rate, for letters
| LETTRE PRIO Internationale | |
| Weight/ Destination | Whole world ( same price everywhere) |
| 20-100 gms | € 2.80 (two international stamps) |
| 100-250 grams | € 7.00 (five international stamps) |
| 250-500 gms | € 11.20 (eight international stamps) |
| 500 gms - 2 kg | € 18.20 |
2.3. Small packages - parcels
'La Poste' has no monopoly over parcels delivery, neither within France nor abroad. Cheaper rates(up to 50% off) can often be found by using other carriers, specially if sending city-to-city.
Check out Mondial Relay, which works with thousands of drop-off points (points relais) all over France.
Or check other options on this price comparison site. Packlink.fr (in French) : also
Example: a 1 kg package to the UK costs over 15€ with Colissimo, even more with with Chronopost (at a post office), but from 7.74 € if you drop it off at a 'Point relais'
2.3.1. Standard rate ; use the Lettre prio internationalerates up to 2 kg, if appropriate (packets no more than 3 cm deep), but be ready to insist when handing over your package for franking..... see above. For other packages, see Colissimo below.
2.3.2. Colissimo International - fast package rate,
- anything up to 30 kg for Europe, or up to 20 kg for other countries.. | Colissimo International Main destinations | Europe (see list of countries) | Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Russia etc | Rest of world |
| Up to 500 g | €12.30 | 16.65 | 24.35 |
| Up to 1 kg | € 15.20 | 19.90 | 27.10 |
| Up to 2 kg | € 17.20 | 21.75 | 37.30 |
| Up to 5 kg | 22.00 | 27.95 | 54.55 |
| Up to 10 kg | €36.30 | 46.25 | 103.10 |
| Up to 20 kg | €60.30 (up to 30 kg) | 72.15 | 164.60 |
Colissimo packages are accepted up to 30 kg, at degressive rates (7kg, 8 kg, etc.)
While the existence of a 'priority' rate supposes the existence of another non-priority rate, this is no longer the case. There is no longer any eco or slow international parcel rate from 'La Poste'. For alternative options, use a different carrier (see above)
Paquet prio & colissimo Europe rates are available for the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, including Liechtenstein, San Marino, United Kingdom, Vatican
2.3. Books and brochures
The latest info available provides tarifs as of January 2019. The Livres et brochures rate is for books, bruchures and printed documents in the French language or French regional languages, not containing advertising. It is available for bookshops, businesses and private individuals, as indicated clearly in the 'En pratique' section of this page of the La Poste website.
| Books and brochures - international | ||
| Weight/ Destination | Great Britain Netherlands Germany, Switzerland, and all other countries in the European Union | Rest of World (Including USA, Canada, Australia) |
| up to 100 gms | € 0.50 | €0.80 |
| 100-250 grams | € 0.90 | € 1.53 |
| 250-500 gms | € 1.35 | € 2.25 |
| 500 gms - I kg | € 2.60 | € 4.356 |
| 1 - 2 kg | € 3.50 | € 5.95 |
Max weight: 2 kg, but extended to 25 kg for dedicated mailbags to a single destinee.
Request rates and a mailbag from your local post office.
France Post Box Number
Thousands gathered in France on Monday to watch dozens of cooks make a giant omelette to celebrate Easter in the town of Bessieres.
The massive meal was made with 15,000 eggs in front of about 10,000 people who participated in the annual holiday tradition, according to local media reports.
Spectators watched as members of Giant Omelette Brotherhood of Bessieres poured gallons of egg yolk into a large pan in the main square of Bessieres in southern France before beating and stirring the mixture with extra long baguettes.
Other Easter festivities in France include the ringing of church bells and egg-rolling competitions.
France Post Box Office
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