BY Michael Polkowski IN Industry knowledge

Are you about to send parcels to France, but don't know how the shipping process works, what the costs will be and which printed packaging is right for you? Then you have come to the right place. This and much more useful information for shipping to France has been summarised for you in the following article.

This is how shipping to France works

In France - as in Germany - there are various companies that handle the delivery of letters, unaddressed mail and parcels for the postal service. At first glance, sending mail to France can therefore seem a little confusing. But when you take a closer look, you quickly realise it's not that complicated with the classic "La Poste". It is comparable to our Deutsche Post.

Overview of the French delivery companies

In addition to "La Poste", there are other companies that take care of the delivery of items in France. The company Colissimo focuses on the delivery of parcels and thus corresponds to the service as we know it from DHL. And then there is another company called Chronopost, which specialises in express delivery. Last but not least, DPD is also on the road in France to deliver parcels.

After you have prepared your parcel for shipment to France and handed it in to one of the German shipping service providers, it is transported to Speyer and handed over to the French postal service there. From here, your parcel will make its way to an international sorting centre. There are a total of three of these sorting centres in:

Chilly Mazarin
Toulouse
Carvin

Once the parcel has left one of these stations, it is on its way to the recipient.

Are there any customs charges for shipping to France?

In principle, no, as France is a member state of the European Union. However, there are exceptions: Different guidelines apply to French colonies such as Mayotte, French Guiana or Martinique.

So if you want to send parcels to a former French colony from an overseas territory (for example, French Polynesia), you must enclose a customs declaration of contents with your shipment.

How long does it take to ship to France?

There is no general answer to this question. Shipping to France depends on numerous factors and can take between one and five days. In principle, there is always the option of choosing the express variant when shipping to France. However, this costs a little more than regular shipping, which is why you have to set priorities at this point: Is speedy shipping or a low price more important to you?

The shipping times of the individual service providers at a glance:

DHL

A parcel usually takes four to six days to be sent to France. If you also take out insurance, you can reduce the time to two to four days. A parcel takes about three days to reach the recipient.

DPD

If you choose standard shipping with DPD, delivery takes about one to four days. If you choose the express variant instead, the parcel will be delivered within one to three days.

Hermes

The company guarantees a duration of three to five days until the parcel arrives at the destination address.

Europacco

With this service provider, you can expect a shipping time of three to seven days.

The costs for shipping to France at a glance

Regardless of whether you want to send a parcel or just a letter to France, the costs depend on the size and weight of the items. A postcard to France costs €0.95, while prices for a letter start at €1.10. If you send an M-size parcel to France, the cost will be €8.89. Size M indicates that the parcel may not exceed a weight of two kilograms. If you want to send a parcel weighing up to 5 kilograms to France, you will have to pay 48.99 EUR.

Note: If it is a commercial shipment to France, you have to accept a VAT of 20 percent. This percentage is calculated on the net value. The shipping costs are already included. There are certain goods for which the VAT rate is reduced. To 10 per cent, 5.5 per cent and sometimes even 2.1 per cent.

Is it possible to track the shipment?

Yes, the shipment to France starts with a delivery company active in Germany, which usually generates a tracking number. This number is usually on the delivery receipt and can be entered on the website of the respective delivery company as well as on the website of "La Poste" in order to start the tracking process.

How is a parcel addressed correctly for shipment to France?

The declaration of the address does not conform to the German lettering, which is why confusion can arise. For shipping to France, proceed as follows when addressing:

Line 1: This is where the name of the recipient belongs. While the first name has no special features, capital letters are used when writing the last name.

Line 2: The address is written in this line. However, when sending to France, this begins with the house number. This is followed by the recipient's street address.

Line 3: Enter the postcode and the city here.

Line 4: The country, i.e. France, is entered here.

Only if you implement this order and specifics can you be sure that your parcel will actually reach the recipient. For visual clarification, here is an overview of the spelling:

First name Surname

House number Street

Postcode City

Country

What does CEDEX mean?

If the letter combination CEDEX appears on the recipient's address, you do not need to be confused by it. This is a postcode that comes into effect especially for large customers. This postcode makes it easier for the shipping company to correctly allocate items. This postcode is not only for private individuals and can therefore only be applied for by companies. The application is made directly to "La Poste". Companies thus enjoy the advantage of being able to receive and send goods more quickly.

Which goods are excluded from shipping to France?

To avoid unwanted difficulties when shipping to France, you should check in advance whether your goods are allowed to be sent to France. To give you a better overview of what is allowed to be shipped, below is a list of items excluded from shipping to France:

Perishable goods

Gold, silver and precious stones

Alcoholic beverages

Tobacco and tobacco products

Firearms

Dangerous goods

Plants

Seeds

Pornographic material

Valuables over $500 (for example, antiques, works of art, watches)

Money

Live animals

Skins of wild animals

Hides

Ivory products

Checking off the checklist before shipping to France

To ensure that the parcel really does reach the recipient, you should take a few minutes to answer the following questions on the checklist or tick these items off:

Have I used a sturdy, undamaged and well-sealed shipping box?

Have I adapted the cardboard packaging to the contents, their size and weight?

Have I protected fragile contents well - for example with bubble wrap?

Have I removed all old labels from the box and placed the current label in a clearly visible position?

Have I declared the address correctly according to French standards?

Have I ensured that the contents are not excluded from shipment to France?

Have I enclosed a customs declaration if I am shipping to a former colony?

With this knowledge, you are now well equipped to order shipping to France and have the desired items delivered to the destination address correctly and at the best possible conditions.