What Is the Address Format of France?

Featured article photo: Streets of Montmartre in Paris, France, by John Towner (Unsplash License)

The French Address Format 🇫🇷

Here is an example of a dummy French address using the format above:

Note that France uses a 5-digit postal code format.

What does "rue" mean in French?

In French, the word rue means "street". It is very commonly used to describe a street name, but not all addresses in French will use it. In the dummy address above, rue de la Croissant literally means "The Croissant Street".

In a French address, rue is usually spelled in lowercase, so there is no need to capitalize it as Rue.

Use unit numbers only if the recipient is in a building

In the address format above, the second line of the address is reserved for a [Unit Number] in a building. However, if the address is not for a unit in a building such as in an apartment or an office, you can remove it altogether.

For example, take a look at the address of Palais Bourbon, the meeting place of the French National Assembly (this is a real address):

A photo of Palais Bourbon in Paris by DXR (Public Domain)

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