Not an opticien in France for an initial eye exam but Opthalmologist(e) who also is often an eye surgeon but is more qualified than an opticien who works in a glasses outlet plus you need an official prescription from the Opthal first who checks for problems and diseases etc. In many places the waiting time can be many months but you are not restricted where you go so you can try out of dept clinics or as mentioned maybe your GP can get you in somewhere faster, no harm in asking. Once in the grip of the Opthal they take it from there. Remember if you did have an accident, the insurers/gendarmes may question your eyesight.
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They can…
particularly if you have an underlying medical issue (such as currently undiagnosed Diabetes) which can be detected quite simply, initially by your MT.
Not according to my MT. He said more difficult than finding a dentist.
It may well be slow to find a ‘standard’ optician appointment, but a letter from your MT referring you to a hospital eye clinic for a specific condition should produce a quick result. The longest I’ve had to wait for a non-urgent consultation is 6 days . YMMV, of course.
That is a very good point. Makes it all the more pressing. Thank you for all your advice.
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My MT is phoning an opthalmologist for me. She is currently on holiday so have got to wait until the beginning of September. I had asked about a prescription but he has given me a letter for this specific opthalmologist so I feel a bit stuck at the moment. Can I just go to Doctolib?
Doctolib will only give rdv where there are spaces and they have basically taken over the appointments allocations from the cabinets who are busy with paperwork. My old cabinet would only ever take calls for two hours during two mornings a week, you had to go via doctolib otherwise or try and actually physically go in person but I never had to do that. The problem is nationwide as less people take up the profession as it is many years of studying and qualifying, a lot more than an ordinary opticien.
I don’t see why not…
the same letter will do for any other…
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Many years ago, when I had a problem with my eyes, my Doc gave me a letter and told me to get an Opthalmo asap. When the quickest appointment was for 6 months hence… my Doc told me to go to A&E. It was that urgent.
There, I was seen by an Opthalmo/eye specialist after waiting some 30 minutes.
Thankfully, never needed an eye chappy quite so urgently since then…
As a UK optometrist of 40 years I can confirm that the post cataract operation infection rate in the UK is very low.
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There isn’t an equivalent “optician’ level to that of an optometrist in the uk- so don’t get confused
If you live long enough you will become presbyopic
I am having my 2nd one done on Monday. It should have been a week after the first one in January but as that one did not go well, the 2nd was cancelled. 10 minutes into the op the surgeon said ‘oh merde’ then don’t move. I guesed something had gone badly wrong. I could not see for many days and then it was very blurred. Had to wait the obligatory 3 to 4 months after for laser treatment, that took 5 minutes and I immediately saw an effect. Apart from a few black floaters it has been very much better and I can even read without specs. The specs I wear are no good for that eye now and on Monday the other one will not be any good either. I don’t know how soon I can get new specs for both eyes as I will still need them for close work.
I hope bad luck does not strike me again and am hoping for a trouble free intervention.
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Good luck Elizabeth, let us know how you get on xx
Good luck, I’m sure it will be straightforward this time. 
Good luck - and (apologies if this is obvious, but…) be sure to keep your head as still as possible throughout the procedure.
Brian the thing that scared me most both times was the surgeon actually taping my head to the operating table so there was no way I could move. I thought it signalled something horrifying about to happen, but no, just a precaution and not a single pain during and after both time.
That sounds quite unpleasant. My eye ops have all been with my head resting in a sort of padded cup which I actually found rather relaxing 