La poste

Firefighters, postal workers, rubbish collectors: Alert on calendar scams in France

Many professions offer calendars at this time of year - but not all sellers who visit your home are genuine

Letters: French lettres recommendées are by no means infallible

Reader points out two failings of France's omnipresent system of registered post

Cost of sending letters and parcels to rise in France: see new rates

The increases come as La Poste seeks to diversify its services amid ‘a drop in paper activity’

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French postman took 13,000 letters home after failing to deliver

‘The accused admitted to storing mail that he had not delivered’, the prosecutor has said

Olympic zones disrupt parcel deliveries in Paris: What to expect

La Poste and Amazon in particular have warned customers that some at-home deliveries may be unavailable or delayed - here is how to check the Olympic zone areas

La Poste brings back itinerant post offices in vans to rural areas

The scheme aims to bring postal services to more people and harks back to the yellow vans of the 1960s and 70s

French post office to move focus from letters to… meal deliveries

Only 15% of its work will be from letters by the end of this year, says La Poste CEO

Mediator to review French post office's non-EU 'customs' charges

Douanes say the charge is not added by them and should be called La Poste’s admin fee

Postal strike starts over parcel deliveries in south-east France

Workers want compensation for new role delivering special packages

How to send a parcel from your own letterbox in France

La Poste can pick up packages of up to 5kg from your home

‘Clothes cabins’, checks on older people: La Poste is diversifying

The service wants to remain a key national institution so is changing how users young and old can use it

Watch out for this scam parcel text in run up to Christmas in France

Gendarmerie are warning people to stay alert to this common Chronopost scam

Can neighbours collect our parcels if we are not at French home?

The rules on parcel collection vary if delivery is by La Poste or not

La Poste, fire service: where does money from calendars go in France?

The calendars are traditionally sold at the end of the year - we look at where your donations go

What is the best way to send a small parcel from France to the UK?

The national postal service offers two main ways to send parcels internationally

Boost for rural France as 1,000 post offices to expand opening hours

La Poste says it is adapting its network to better serve the people who need it most

Artificial Intelligence can write your letters in French

Give your request in English and a French AI service will compose the letter or greetings card - and post it

How to use French post office’s new online identity system

Latest version of Identité Numérique La Poste aims to offer more protection to users than the existing FranceConnect system

Slow uptake for La Poste’s new digital stamps in France

Concerns over security and lack of digital access and know-how are said to be main reasons use of the ‘e-letter timbre rouge’ is so low

Do you agree? DIY machines in France’s La Poste are hindrance not help

Nick Inman just wanted to send a parcel to Britain but when staff are replaced by disobedient computers things get tricky

Can I still use my stock of French red first class stamps?

After sales of the familiar timbres rouges in France ended, we look at whether unused stamps can still be used for letters

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

La Poste’s diversification strategy to stay relevant means you can now organise home help, get your medicines delivered and much more

Here are the 68 French towns where daily post deliveries are stopping

The trial is part of La Poste’s plans to adapt to lower levels of post being sent

French post office to launch trials into eliminating daily rounds

The move is one of several changes related to reorganising deliveries being tested around France. Unions say it is just another way of cutting jobs

Why does the French post office care about value of items sent abroad?

A reader asks why they are quizzed about the value of parcels when they go to post something from France to the UK

France’s new digital timbre rouge: Will my letter be seen by staff?

The priority mail stamp is to be replaced by a scan-and-send process from January 1, prompting fears that postal workers will be able to read private letters

Energy, Linky, post: Thirteen changes affecting life in France in 2023

We look at gas and electricity price caps, how digital postage will work and more

La Poste to launch digital stamps in 2023: How will they work?

The new system will allow people to write a unique code on letters to avoid having to buy physical stamps

How to fill out French customs form online for packages sent abroad

Connexion readers have noticed that the process cannot be completed in person at many local post offices, but is available on the La Poste website

€30 customs/VAT fee for US gift sent to me in France: What can I do?

If the package is clearly marked as a present and is worth less than €45 no import VAT and customs duties should be applied to it

Children in France have until December 20 to write to Père Noël

Sixty years ago two postal workers’ independent actions sparked the tradition of replies being sent to children who write to Father Christmas. Letters in English are accepted

Postal strike in southwest France enters second day

Workers in sorting offices are calling for daily bonuses to increase their salaries. Parcels are set to be delayed for several days

New GPS address system in place across France after a decade roll-out

A house number and street must now appear on standardised addresses by law - but local communes got to name their own streets

French postal service pays tribute to Queen with collector stamps

It is highly unusual for the French post office to issue special limited edition stamps in memory of a non-French citizen

‘How I got €37 postage fee refunded for £3.50 book delivery to France’

When his sister sent him a book she had written, one reader was charged a huge fee to receive it but has won a refund

Warning over new La Poste ‘failed delivery’ note scam in France

Scammers post a paper slip into victims’ letterboxes with a redelivery payment link, which looks very much like an official postal service message

Will the red French stamps I have at home still work after January 1?

La Poste has announced that it will be discontinuing the priority stamps and replacing them with an ‘e-letter’ service

French post office confirms it is ending its next-day red stamp

Customers will instead be offered an e-letter service for urgent deliveries

French post office to launch digital ‘stamps’

The scheme will enable people to use the La Poste app to generate a unique code that can be used in place of a physical stamp

Legacy of La Poste: Tracing France’s postal service through the ages

There are several museums dedicated to keeping the history of one of the country’s favourite institutions alive

Yellow van trick, late letters: France’s La Poste replies to criticism

Reasons given for changes to the service include increase in home shopping, cost-cutting and Covid

Undelivered letters: Why is France’s postal service struggling?

Stamp prices have increased by nearly 5%, but changes to La Poste’s organisation are causing disruption to deliveries

La Poste claims improvement to custom charge issue for foreign parcels

Some readers though still report erroneous charges. Here is what you can do if it happens to you. We also explain the cases in which taxes and fees do apply

How I got back tax wrongly charged on gift sent to France from UK

Like thousands of other people in France, our reporter had the nasty experience of a postman demanding tax be paid on Christmas presents before they were handed over

Can I ask La Poste to give me a former tenant’s new address?

La Poste does have a popular post forwarding service (' réexpédition de courrier' ), but a La Poste spokeswoman said it would not be able to give out the person’s details

Difference between 'lettre suivie' and 'recommandée' with La Poste?

The ' lettre suivie' in France is cheaper than the 'lettre recommandée', and there are other differences

Money saver: Buy stamps in France online at La Poste and print at home

An announcement by La Poste about price changes from January 1, 2022, means that next year the saving from printing at home will be 3%

Driverless postal vehicles tested in Montpellier

A series of test phases will last three years and staff will use the 'droids' to carry heavy parcels and letters while they ride alongside on a bicycle

‘Customs’ charges on gifts due to postal errors, say French Douanes

The problems are arising linked to a huge increase in border formalities due to Brexit and changes in EU VAT rules, and computer errors, according to officials

Still waiting for French residency card months after fingerprint meet

Holding a Withdrawal Agreement card will be a legal requirement for Britons living in France since 2020 or before, by January 1, 2022

La Poste to offer reusable parcel pouches by French start-up

The move to reusable envelopes and pouches produced by French start-up Hipli will save up to 25kg of cardboard per pack

Can I still use old French postage stamps even if prices have risen?

La Poste’s rules on using old stamps are similar to Royal Mail’s in the UK

Children in France have until December 17 to send their lists to Santa

Children need only write ‘Père Noël’ and their return address on the envelope to receive a message in French or in English

Decline in letters sees La Poste diversify: What else does it do?

Home help, dinner delivered to your door, and driving licence theory tests are also available from post offices in France

France national strike today: Which services are affected?

200 street protests are planned over spending power and other issues with disruption expected on transport, in schools and the postal service

Fraud: Alert after thousands caught out by parcel scam in France

Have you placed an order online and received an SMS about a ‘delivery problem'? Think twice before you click on any link or enter any personal information...

French postal service to slow second-class delivery times by one day

The national service provider is facing growing losses exacerbated by Covid 19. The change could save €400million

French artist creates 10 new stamp designs for Croix-Rouge

The colourful and distinctive ‘handwriting’ designs by Nice artist Ben go on sale tomorrow. Each pack sold will lead to a donation of €2 to help vulnerable people

Customs declarations needed to bring many items into France

Customs declarations, French VAT and sometimes import duty must now be considered when you are moving items between the UK and France since Brexit

Sending parcel from French home to UK no longer an option

La Poste has clarified further changes to parcels post following 'full Brexit' and is looking into a problem with the pricing of labels

Brexit: Issues with French parcels post

Changes with sending parcels due to the UK leaving the EU, including a new form and tariffs, temporarily led to technical problems on La Poste's website

How to send parcels from home via La Poste

It is possible to send packages or print postage stamps from home if you do not wish to visit the post office

France: 4-fold rise in online shopping scams last month

Online scams skyrocketed last month, with scammers targeting online shoppers by email, SMS, instant messaging, and social media

Shops: France considering Sunday opening in December

The government is said to be 'favourable' to the idea put forward by unions - as La Poste warns against parcel delivery scams

La Poste staff will check up on your relatives

Veiller sur mes parents scheme means post staff will make between one to six visits a week to vulnerable people while on their rounds

France: La Poste hires 9,000 new staff in Christmas run-up

La Poste is set to hire double the number of temporary staff to cope with up to "four million parcels per day" before Christmas and extra delivery services but unions say this is not enough

France lockdown: Can I go to the post office or bank?

Reader question: Which boxes should be crossed on the attestation form for the following outings? Post offices, banks, and insurance?

La Poste reports 20,000 'errors' with parcels a day

A huge rise in post-Covid mail has seen a surge in delivery problems for La Poste – its Colissimo parcel service is listing more than 20,000 parcels late or missing each day.

French post admits errors and aims to improve parcel service

French post office La Poste has announced that it is working to improve its parcel delivery service, Colissimo, after a huge spike in traffic since the end of confinement has led to more than 20,000 delivery errors per day.

All post offices in France will be open by end of May

La Poste is preparing a progressive reopening of post offices to have all 7,700 operational by the end of May; currently many remain closed.

Covid-19: Use French post services from home

With one in ten post offices shut and people advised to only visit those if essential, it is useful to know about the many postal services available without visiting one.

Covid-19 France: extra time to pick up registered post

La Poste is extending the deadlines for people to travel to pick up registered letters at post offices to several weeks after confinement ends.

La Poste rejects court advice to cut postboxes

La Poste says it has no immediate plans to reduce the number of boxes but it will look at them on a case-by-case basis

French post to step up news deliveries after ‘error’

French postal service La Poste is to increase daily newspaper deliveries during the Covid-19 lockdown, as its CEO admits its previous policy of only delivering three days a week was “an error”.

French postal service reduced

Only one in 10 post offices are now open and postal deliveries are being reduced to three days a week instead of six, as La Poste adapts to the Covid-19 pandemic.