Postal System

 

There are over 25 La Poste (Post Offices) located in greater Toulouse; the main La Poste is at 9 rue Lafayette, near Place Capitole. Hours of operation are usually 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-18:00 weekdays, and until noon on Saturdays; check with your local La Poste to confirm its hours of operation. The main post office and other centres de tri (sorting centers), such as St-Michel, stay open during lunch hours (journée continue). Post offices sell telephone cards, and have pay phones, a Minitel and photocopiers available for public use. Most post offices have coin-operated machines for buying stamps and weighing packages ; some have a fax machine. The French postal system also provides banking services, so the wait can be long.

MAILBOXES

Public mailboxes are yellow and are located throughout Toulouse and the surrounding towns. Each La Poste has a boîte aux lettres (drop-slot) for mailing letters both inside and outside the building. Often the drop-slots are labelled for different destinations such as Paris, Toulouse, Haute Garonne, or autres destinations (other destinations). Sometimes they are simply marked lettres.

STAMPS

Timbres (stamps) may be purchased over-the-counter or from vending machines inside the La Poste, or in any tabac. For purchases of more than a carnet de timbres (book of stamps), there is usually a counter marked timbres en gros (stamps in bulk). Special-issue and seasonal stamps may be purchased at the guichet (counter or window) marked “philatélie”.

Most post offices provide a self-service, coin-operated scale for weighing letters and packages. The small screen at the top of the machine (with a button for English-language instructions) is used to select various options and will display the amount of money to insert. The machine then issues a stamp printed with the exact amount and dispenses any change.

Postal rates for a letter (max weight: 20g) are as follows:

France, EU, Switzerland	0,46€
Elsewhere in Europe	0,58€
North America	0,67€
Asia & South America	0,75€
Australia	0,79€

EXPRESS MAIL

Chronopost is a rapid postal delivery service. For a fee, Chronopost will deliver documents and/or merchandise anywhere in France within a few hours, and to most European countries quicker than normal mail service. FEDEX, DHL, and UPS usually offer lower rates and faster, more reliable service for documents and packages being sent outside of France.

PACKAGES

Paquets or colis (packages) are accepted up to a maximum of 2 kilos (4.4 lbs). Packages weighing in excess of 2 kilos will be expensive to mail. At the main La Poste on rue Lafayette in Toulouse center, large or heavy packages must be taken to the rear entrance. Suburban (and other Toulouse-center) post offices accept packages directly at the counter. Boxes for packages are on sale at all La Poste. A list of contents for customs purposes is necessary for packages going outside the European Union. Packages up to a value of US $50 can be mailed duty-free to the USA. When having packages sent into France from outside the European Union, be sure to tell the sender to mark the package “gift” or “No Commercial Value” (when appropriate), otherwise, customs duties will be applied and are payable upon receipt. (Packages that are sent to locations outside of France should be marked the same.) There is sometimes a surcharge applied for packages weighing over 2 kilos. Small package containing no letter inside can be sent as “petit paquet”, which is the least expensive way of sending something small.

Overseas packages mailed from Toulouse-center will reach their destination faster than if mailed from a smaller village. For the fastest service for letters, take pre-stamped mail directly to a centre de tri (sorting center), such as St. Michel in Toulouse-center or chemin Bordeblanche in Lardennes, and place it in the street-side drop-slot. Packages cannot be mailed from these slots.

OTHER POSTAL SERVICES

Poste restante (Held mail)
For a fee, the post office will hold mail (i.e. while on vacation) for up to one month.

Réexpedition du courrier (Mail forwarding)
To have mail forwarded to a new address, request the réexpedition du courrier form. (There is a fee for this service).

Compte Chèques Postaux (CCP) (Checking/Savings accounts)
Checking (CCP - Compte Chèques Postaux) and savings accounts (CNE-Compte Épargne/ Caisse Nationale d’Epargne) may be opened at La Poste.

Change (Changing money)
Changing money can usually be done in the post office of a large town (indicated by the sign “change”). French post offices do not accept foreign currency; however, foreign currency can be sent via a postal money order for a small fee.

Vocabulary - Post Office

Counter/window	Guichet
Airmail	Par avion
Postage stamp	Timbre
Insured	Assuré
Book of stamps	Carnet de timbres
Self-adhesive stamps	Timbres autocollants
Receipt	Récépissé or reçu or ticket
Forwarding	Réexpédition
Weight	Le poids
General Delivery	La poste restante
Size	Dimension
Form to fill out, printed matter	Imprimé
Inquiry	Réclamation
Special Delivery	Par express
Registered	Recommandé
Return receipt	Avis de réception
Package	Paquet or colis
Money order	Mandat
Change of address	Changement d’adresse
I wish to send this letter/package	Je voudrais envoyer cette lettre / ce colis