Numbers and routing
Geographic number
A geographic number is a landline number tied to an area of the country; in France, it starts with 01, 02, 03, 04 or 05 depending on the region.
The five prefixes divide mainland France into large zones: 01 for the Paris region, then the north-west, north-east, south-east and south-west, with the overseas territories sharing some of these prefixes. Historically tied to an exchange, these numbers remain linked to a zone, even when the line now runs over the internet.
Why it matters for fax
The vast majority of French fax numbers are geographic, inherited from the analogue lines of businesses and public bodies. Together with 09 numbers, they are the only numbers this site accepts as a destination.