Need help with pre paid phone in Paris in English

[Guest revolution.cx]

I'm in Paris right now (I from the US) and need a couple of phones for a production I'm working on.

I do have access to a couple of US GSM phones that could take new SIM cards but really what I'd like is to just buy a couple of new pay as you go (prepaid) phones from a shop here.

I can manage enough French to buy bread but I'll be sunk if I just go into a shop and hope for the best.

Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for? What phrases? Requirements?

Just need a couple basic handsets with 60 minutes use spread over a couple weeks.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Like I'll send you free registration codes to our Smartphone products.

Thank you!

[Guest confused and hungover]

I'm in Paris right now (I from the US) and need a couple of phones for a production I'm working on.

I do have access to a couple of US GSM phones that could take new SIM cards but really what I'd like is to just buy a couple of new pay as you go (prepaid) phones from a shop here.

I can manage enough French to buy bread but I'll be sunk if I just go into a shop and hope for the best.

Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for?  What phrases?  Requirements?

Just need a couple basic handsets with 60 minutes use spread over a couple weeks.

Any help is greatly appreciated!  Like I'll send you free registration codes to our Smartphone products.

Thank you!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

sorry, not been around for the last month but... i lived in france up untill 2 years ago, i don't really know how it works now but back in the day (when i was a peasant) and you wanted a phone, you had to go to a big chain stor like "darty" or some other electrical store. there, a guy who knew nothing of which he spoke, would sell you some dodgy phone with a very very expensive contract (or PAYG)

ya know, thinking back, most of my friends didn't even have a landline, i didnt even have a job, and i was drunk the whole time, so maybe i shouldn't even answer this post.

umm, phrases.... je cherch un telephone, et er.. pas tros cher ci c'est possible....

damn, my french left me... i need to get out of bloody holland

[Guest Jamma14]

"je cherche un telephone, et er.. pas trop cher si c'est possible...."

No your french hasn't left you, just your French spelling. ;)

And sorry revolution.cx, I have nothing else to contribute as I'm afraid I don't know how the system works in France.:D

Just couldn't resist a good old spelling correction. :D

[Guest confused and hungover]

Just couldn't resist a good old spelling correction. ;)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:D :D

my knowlege of french is purely spoken, not written.... i learnt to speak by sitting in peoples cellars drinking cheap wine and home brew.

[Guest revolution.cx]

Thanks for the ruminations.

Turned out that PAYG was about 50 cents a minute, whereas just using my roaming T-Mobile USA phone was $1/minute. So I decided to skip it and just use my phone. And as for the other people who had no phone they just had to suffer.

There was free Wifi everywhere but a landline phone call cost by the minute. And calling landlines from cellphones costs even more??? There's a lot to like about Paris but the phone system isn't one of them!