Just looked at the small print on NRJ myself, as the 1 Euro SIM interested me.
Seriously looking at NRJ just in case the Bouygues signal it runs on has returned here.
EDITED from here to reflect that UK is included as a European country on NRJ although Switzerland is not.
There are add on options available for an allowance of calls per month to useful countries like Switzerland, the US, Far East, Australasia, Maghreb for prices like 1 Euro or 4 Euros for a month which look quite reasonable.
ISTR also from last time I was with them, Bouygues counts your own calls to your voicemail as coming out of your allowance so I think NRJ will too.
So for a Brit in France perhaps look very very hard if attracted by the decent data network and apparently reasonable customer service of NRJ.
8-99 for 140Gb 5G also offered on NRJ (Bouygues) doesn’t look bad at all, though. And they’re being a lot more honest about the actual 5G coverage being “in locations where 5G is available” than other networks including Orange the builder of said 5G infrastructure. There are bigger data packages too in their 4G or 5G package categories that look OK especially as it runs on Bouygues.
Yes I was very very surprised by that offer by SFR. Clearly a very competitive market out there! Oh yes, on another topic, also just received a 40 euro off voucher from ikea if I spend 100euro, so 40% off isn’t bad new pillows here we come
Just had that one too from IKEA but sadly only useable instore, my nearest ones all too far away. Mondial Relay delivery to relais is free with IKEA till the end of the month though.
Oh what a shame! I guess they want to encourage folks into the store, knowing many folks will also be picking up those opportunity buys as well as what they went there for. Fortunately I have one relatively nearby in Montpellier so will be planning a visit this week sometime to avoid the heaving masses at the weekend.
The is in the detail! It is difficult to find out if any of the deals includes Britain or not. I am now hesitating between Auchan mobile (which is part of Bouygues) and has illimited calls for 3€99 or Free which has 2hrs for 2€. I reside in the UK so only need the phone for the odd call and to be called.
For your need NRJ should do it. It’s Bouygues network.
if you’re quick, not sure when it ends, you can either pay 5 euros for sim then 1 per month or 1 euro for sim then 2 per month. tiny allowance of data and small for calls but useable. especially if in a phone with no apps (as they sneakily use data in background). There are some other low end packages available in their 4G list eg
20Gb for 5 Euros a month+unlimited calls
2Gb +unlimited calls for 2 Euros a month (I’d say this one is the real bargain for many)
Both the above, and most others, would currently cost you only 1 Euro for the SIM (instead of 5 or 10 Euros) to start
…and a variety of others including some stonkingly big data packages in their 5G list.
EDIT the only peculiarity is NRJ is not counting Switzerland as Europe, having checked closely, the UK is still on their list counting as Europe.
@annemurray thank you so much for posting that link to the latest NRJ mobile package offerings.
First bit of good news is that I went through the NRJ contract again with a fine toothcomb and the UK is in a Europe list. So as good as any other French mobile network if you’re roaming in UK.
The one still left to watch is just Switzerland now as NRJ is definitely not including Switzerland within Eurpe.
*Add-on options to call sets of very useful countries (eg Switzerland, USA, Australia/NZ and others) can also be bought at an OK cost. As can extra data if you blow your allowance for the month, just for the month that you need it.
For international calls, I’d say this flexibility of NRJ is better than Prixtel, which is also quite flexible but domestically.
Second bit of good news and thank you again for posting the link @annemurray1 is I’ve signed up to the 1 Euro monthly package. As it will (1) give me an alternate way of calling if Lebara’s move to SFR in July crashes my phone… it’s happened to me twice before when phone co’s switched to SFR as SFR wasn’t providing a signal here. (2) it’s the solution to a backup line in case I lose my phone which I’ve been keeping an eye out for, for some time now.
Don’t worry Anne the other shoe will drop - once the networks get into a strong positon they remember that sans engagement cuts both ways and suddenly pull the package you were happy with.
Lots of different parameters you can select (price, amount of data etc), just make sure you select ‘options’ if you want to call abroad as many operators have unlimited calls abroad if you pay an extra fee.
My NRJ Sim card, that I got to check if the Bouygues network it runs on has brought coverage back here, has arrived today.
I have just worked out that the mobile network name “NRJ” is a pun on the French word “Énergie”. Clever.
Will test coverage tomorrow. That will tell me if I will have to move to monopoly-pricing Orange, or to just-slightly-less-than-monopoly-pricing Sosh. As if trying to use the NRJ Sim fails, this would prove Bouygues coverage hasn’t come back to here.
If that’s the case then as Lebara is being chucked off Orange’s network very shortly…following other MVNO’s that also got booted by Orange… If this NRJ/Bouygues Sim card doesn’t work, then as soon as Lebara switches to SFR from July, I will have no mobile signal. That would force me to go direct to Orange/Sosh and get ripped off if no Bouygues signal back either.
One day I will look into this and try to work out if there’s a case for Orange abusing monopoly power here. I’ve got a nasty feeling Orange were only obliged to host other mobile phone service providers for a certain number of years. That may have expired. As Free, Prixtel, I believe at one time Auchan, and now Lebara were all on Orange then suddenly not.
It’s all very well for Orange or whichever network to say they cover 99% of the population but of course that’s far less of the geographic area and in a lot of places Orange is the only signal.
Interesting information, especially about Orange. Le French Mobile used Orange network so they may have been booted out too as they are stopping at the end of the month!
I like the pun on NRJ…
I’m in France and using my new NRG SIM for the first time. No internet connection initially, as the instructions for configuring my mobile’s access codes, etc were incomplete. Have solved that, but now no SMS!
Just saw your post and Bouygues seems ideal for us especially as you’ve confirmed the UK is included in Europe. So they are still offering Sims for one euro and 2€ per month. We already have an orange and O2 account but the mobile connection in our area is pretty weak so we need an additional service just for emergency calls. So thanks for your informed info
new pillows here we come 
it’s a pain to navigate but glad you have the info you need
is in the detail! It is difficult to find out if any of the deals includes Britain or not. I am now hesitating between Auchan mobile (which is part of Bouygues) and has illimited calls for 3€99 or Free which has 2hrs for 2€. I reside in the UK so only need the phone for the odd call and to be called.