Letters: French lettres recommendées are by no means infallible 

To the Editor,

Your recent article on the difference between lettres suivies and lettres recommandées  [registered post] was helpful and informative.

12 things you can do at a French post office other than buy stamps

I would note that the tracking of such letters and parcels does not guarantee that they will arrive, merely that one will know when and where they were last seen, although one can insure tracked parcels for up to €1,000. 

Some legal and government websites state that the excuse that a lettre recommandée  envelope was empty will not be accepted: apparently this ploy to avoid the contents of a letter was employed in the past, hence use of bailiffs to deliver important letters.

Simon Croxon, by email

What is your experience of using lettres recommandées in France? Does the system work as intended? Let us know via letters@connexionfrance.com