List of French postal codes
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Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting.
Format
The postal code (in French, code postal) consists of five digits, the first two digits being the number of the département in metropolitan France. The system is also used outside Europe, in the Overseas Departments and Territories, but it is the first three digits that identify the département or territory. The digits 00 are used for Military addresses. The next two numbers indicate the canton. All the cities or towns inside the same canton have the same postcode. A regular postcode always ends with a 0, with the notable exception of Paris, Lyon and Marseille - see below - and the Overseas Départements and Territories). A postcode not ending with a 0 indicates a special code, known as CEDEX (see below).
In Paris, the last two digits of the postal code indicate the arrondissement. Prior to 1972, an address in the eighth arrondissement in Paris, would be written as:
8, Rue Chambiges Paris 8eThis number was incorporated into the postal code as:
8, Rue Chambiges 75008 ParisAn exception to this rule is the XVIe arrondissement, which has two postal codes, 75016 (south) and 75116 (north).
Outside of Paris, the cities of Lyon and Marseille are also divided into arrondissements, which are part of the postal code:
11 rue Duhamel 69002 Lyon
2 avenue du Maréchal Foch 13004 MarseilleIn each département, the préfecture (main city) has a postal code ending with 000, for example Ajaccio in Corsica:
15 avenue du Général Leclerc 20000 AjaccioThe bigger the city, the simpler the postal code. The sous-préfectures are recognized by using a XXX00 postcode. Here is for example the postal code of a small village, Lépaud in Creuse:
16 grande rue 23170 LépaudAnd the postal code of Mortagne-au-Perche, sous-préfecture of the Département de l'Orne:
4 rue des Quinze Fusillés 61400 Mortagne-au-PercheOverseas Départements and Territories use 3-digit codes starting with 97 or 98, the last of which identifies the correct territory. For instance, 971 is Guadeloupe. In this case, the last digit is dropped so as to keep the 5-digit format. This is why the regular postcodes for these don't end with 0 except for the préfecture or sous-préfecture, for example :
Maison du Port 97100 Basse-Terre
4 boulevard du Général de Gaulle 97320 Saint-Laurent du Maroni
193 RN2 97439 Sainte-Rose
CEDEX
There is also a system known as CEDEX, Courrier d'Entreprise à Distribution eXceptionnelle, designed for recipients of large volumes of mail. A postal code is allocated to each large organisation or to post office box holders, ending in three unique digits, for example:
2 place Jussieu 75251 Paris Cedex 05The '05' is for the Ve arrondissement. Ordinary deliveries would be addressed to:
2 place Jussieu 75005 ParisIt is also acceptable to include a boîte postale (post office box) number as well as the street address in CEDEX addresses.
Monaco
The French postal code system is also used in Monaco, where the postal code is prefixed with 'MC', not with 'F' for France:
12 avenue de la Costa MC-98000 Monaco MONACO
23, Avenue Prince Héréditaire Albert MC-98025 Monaco Cedex MONACO
See also
External links
- [Guide to French postal codes]
- [Identifying CEDEX codes (in French)]
- [Postal Services in France - at Discover France (English)]
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