Postal Services

Summary of topic: straight forward-ish 

If you are going as an ELA, you'll need to know how to post documentation for your ELA position when you get there.

What do you need?

Envelopes: You can buy envelopes at any supermarket.

Stamps: I bought mine at a Tabac (tobacco) shop. They are usually dotted about everywhere and you can go up to the till and ask for stamps. They do look a bit dodgy from the outside though... They're similar to your local corner shop in the UK.

I just said : "Bonjour, avez-vous des timbres?"  

To my luck, they happened to run out of stamps in 2 out of 3 stores that I visited which was a bit frustrating. You can also buy them at the post office itself however they can have big queues depending on the time. In my shop, they only had red stamps left in a booklet (carnet) of 12. I had to buy this which was around 14 euros. It's expensive but the good thing was it was first class so all my mail got sent really quickly. Green stamps are second class if you want to ask for them.

They might ask if you want rouge or vert so be sure to know which one you want!

Once you have got your stamp and letter ready to post, you can put it through any letterbox you see. They are bright yellow so easy to spot!

The Letterbox

Okay you might think its weird that I have a separate section for a letterbox but when I got to one I was confused.... luckily my best friend is French so I sent her a picture asking what to do!

The box will most likely be divided two sections like this:

You might have to zoom in a lot. Basically, on the left it has 3 areas where post put in there would deliver to. These are the postcodes starting with 01, 42 and 69. If your postcode on the letter starts with that post it there. On the right it says autres departments/etranger. My postcode started 75. I got so confused as my postcode wasn't there and I didn't know if I should be posting it somewhere else. My best friend told me to put it there because thats where any other post in France would go. Maybe this was all really obvious and I was just being silly but thought I'd add it in anyway!

Using the Post Office for Other Services

You'll need to go in to the post office if you want to post abroad or return/pick up a parcel. I always tried to avoid it because I always used to see big queues but its not that bad at all! There is actually an assistant at the door that will ask you what you're there for and guide you to the right area. (Not sure if this will change as it may be a COVID thing but either way, there will be assistants somewhere inside)

If you know what you want to do before you go, prepare a small sentence to tell the assistant.

1. To collect a parcel

One of my packages didn't get delivered to my flat so I got a yellow sheet of paper saying to go to the post office. It will have the address on it and a earliest day and time you can collect it from. I got to the door and the assistant asked me what I was there for. I said "Je voudrais récupérer un colis" and handed her the ticket. You'll need a form of ID so I just brought my passport. Done!

2. To send a letter/package abroad

I had my envelope and letter all ready, I just hadn't got a stamp yet. I went again and said: "Je voudrais envoyer cette lettre à l'Inde" and I showed her the letter at the same time. This is easier for them to understand you, especially if you have a mask! She directed me to the self service machine and showed me how to use it. If they don't show you, you can always ask for their help or follow my instructions below haha.

This is how to send a letter to India, but the steps are similar for the UK so don't worry. (Apologies for the bad quality photos, not sure if you're allowed to take pictures so was trying to do it discretely...):

First, you place your letter on the top of the machine on the scales. I didn't get a photo of the scales but its literally just above the screen, it'll be obvious.

This is what the screen will first look like. 

Je pèse et j'envoie une lettre: This is for weighing and sending a letter. It will give you everything you need.

• Je pèse et j'envoie un colis: This is for weighing and sending a package. I never used this but I assume you get a label and then hand the package in at the counters.
• J'achete un carnet des timbres: If you prefer to buy your stamps to send within France at the post office, you can do so here.

Continuing on with how to send a letter, once you have clicked that you'll come to this screen. You can see all the options. If you want to do UK, click Angleterre. If anywhere else you can click ailleurs dans le monde.

If you have clicked Angleterre you won't get this screen. I chose India so I had to type in Inde (be sure to know your destination in French as that is what it'll come up with.

It then asks if it contains any merchandise. As we are just sending a letter we would click Non.

Then you can choose what kind of sending option you would like. For India, these are the options I got. The middle and the left options are the same for UK. You can get just the regular sending option which is prioritaire or you can get tracked which is suivie. For this I chose tracked as it was going a long distance. For the UK, I never used tracked and it was fine. The sending time was also 2 days. Very quick!

If you have another letter to send, you can take your letter off the scale now and click "Je continue mes achats". Then it'll start the whole process again. If not, you can click "Je règle mes achats"

Here you can choose to pay with cash or card.

Once you have paid, you will see options for a receipt. I'd always get one just in case. It's the middle option.

Then it'll show this screen which gives you instructions and the printing process. The sticker and receipt will print at the bottom.

Then you stick it to your letter and post it in a box that looks like this in your post office. It should be inside the post office. If you are unsure where this is, just ask because I had to! They are really nice in there.

And you're done! Hope this helps x