# Ways to contacts prefectures in writing



## dextcorp (11 mo ago)

Bonjour,

Are there ways to contact prefectures/subprefectures in greater Paris via email or other electronic methods? So far I have seen a phone number which can only be dialled from within France but ideally (due to complexity of questions) I would like to ask them via email or some type of online form (with response sent to my email) or even an online chat.

Best regards,
Alex


----------



## ARPC (Aug 30, 2021)

It depends on the individual prefecture. Some are very responsive to email and others not at all. All the addresses for foreigner issues are in this format:
[email protected]

Replacing « Savoie » with your department however they compose it in their web address.
Using normal mail with delivery confirmation from la poste mail is also a good bet.
Good luck -


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Citizen services are gradually moving online, but one important clue is to check the website of the prefecture you're interested in to see if they offer any email or postal address for "contact." If they have a page for direct contact (usually with an email form, complete with a drop down to select the subject of your query) use that rather than regular old e-mail.

The prefectures tend not to be available for "personalized" discussion like this (though this may be changing) - probably because, like many governments and their agencies, they tend to be understaffed and underpaid. If you send a written inquiry by postal mail, best to send it registered so that you can confirm that they received it.

It can depend on the specific topic of your query whether it will be answered or not. Customer service is not a huge part of the remit of the prefectures. They tend to be set up based on the idea that the various procedures and processes are set in stone, so they normally just refer you to the official document or website for "all the answers."


----------



## dextcorp (11 mo ago)

Thank you all for your replies. 
My own experience with this after trying prefecture online forms and emails is that indeed the answers are not specialised. They seem like mostly copy-paste from some document/help-page. So none of the specialised questions got answered after contacting several prefectures.
Thank you for your help, will keep trying


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Welcome to France! FWIW, if you can personally go to the prefecture (and get inside to any sort of reception desk) you have a better shot at being able to ask a question. But very often they will just refer you back to whatever it says on the website. Most of the people working in any prefecture are there to carry out the rules, however interpreted locally. 

In the absence of any other sort of response, do your best to pull together whatever application or dossier they mention online for the subject of your question, make the appropriate appointment and see what they have to say. As we were joking around about in another thread here, it is rare for someone to have their dossier accepted for processing on the first visit or submission. Even if they do look through it and "accept it" they often return the whole thing to you in order to request "just one more" document - and that sometimes more than once.


----------

