Currently we have 2 contracts with Orange - one for internet and the other for a landline. Thinking about changing to SOSH but have been told that if I do I cannot also have a landline. Last time we had a long powercut the mobile could not get a signal - presumably the mast was down as well so we really do need a landline. Is staying with Orange our only option?
Pretty well, yes.
Do you mean you don’t have a phone number or a physical copper line?
More and more, telephone service is provided by voice over IP (VOIP) and if the power goes down then so does phone service. Definitely with fibre it’s VOIP only and I expect it’s going to be more and more difficult to have a standalone analogue phone line.
We have a physical copper line and separate phone number.
Guard it with your life 
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I agree with @toryroo , @DaniB We’ve had a (proper) landline with Orange for ever but altered our contract to move internet provision from someone else to Orange and ended up keeping our landline number but moving to VOIP. Given the unreliability of power around here, that has proved to be a mistake…
It’s not just Sosh, no operators will sell you an RTC - even Orange stopped selling new RTC lines.
The whole infrastructure is gradually being decommissioned commune by commune, so eventually you’ll have no choice. But for now, if you already have an RTC line and want to keep it then stick with Orange.
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To give some background a single copper 'phone line can, at the same time, run both an ADSL service (i.e. a digital line that provides internet access) & an old-school POTS service (Plain Old Telephone Service i.e. analogue 'phone line, also called RTC).
This means you can have one contract for a geographic telephone number via the analogue service, & another contract for the internet via ADSL, which can give you a second 'phone number that runs via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) i.e. you have two “fixte” numbers, but only one exists as a physical connection back at your local exchange.
Clearly, having two contracts is an unnecessary expense so most people ditch the classic telephone a just have an ADSL contract, with the one “fixte” number. A change to fibre merely shifts the method by which your box is connected to the internet i.e. dodgy, old. slow, copper to much faster & theoretically more reliable fibre.
As the whole of France intends to run on fibre eventually you are no longer able to get a new POTS line, but for now they’re not stopping ones that still exist.
EDIT: From this year, 2023, the old RTC system is being removed systematically - see the excellent post from @Gareth previous to this one.
On the whole having a VoIP phone that doesn’t work in the event of a power outage isn’t a big deal as mobile 'phones are ubiquitous these days. However, for those in an area where the mobile network is patchy that is not the case, hence the problem that @DaniB had.
Anyone worried about losing their landline in a power cut & therefore guarding their classic landline could always invest the money being spent on that into getting a small UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to keep their box running for a while.
Solutions to the problem do need to be considered as the copper network is very definitely going to disappear.
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Thoroughly recommended, they also have surge/lightning protection for both power and telephone (ADSL) lines
We haven’t had a fixed line for the last 5 years which has saved approx 750€ and has caused no problems whatsoever.
When we switch to fibre soon I will not be concerned in the slightest of having no landline - even in event of a power cut.
Yes, we will be able to get fibre in the village in a couple of months. We have also been told that the copper network will be withdrawn here in 2026, so we have three years to switch or no internet.
I have three of them.
You are correct it does keep things going for a while.
Livebox alone last between 4-6 hours, a little less if there are VOIP calls.
However, it will not last a long power cut, last one we had early July lasted 18 hours.
Fortunately our mobile phones were fully charged, so we were ok. Plus we have extra chargers for the phones always topped up.
The other advantge we have, for cooking, is that we have a gas hob.
All copper as to be removed by 2028 (sorry that year might be wrong). No phone company is currently installing “land lines” ie a telephone line that takes its voltage to work from the line. All are switching over to VOIP (Voice over the internet protocol) and yes if your electricity goes down you will have no phone unless of course you have a charged up mobile phone or a UPS system. (Uninterrupted Power Supply, essentially a battery backup) I’d be more concerned to have a back up car than a phone. Oh and what about the washing machine, TV, oven, microwave etc.
In the not-too-distant future we’ll all be driving electric vehicles which will be capable of acting as batteries for the appliances in our houses during relatively short power cuts (V2H is the name, if I remember correctly).
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