Your cloud PBX runs your extensions, queues and IVR. To call the outside world it needs a SIP trunk, a phone line over the internet that carries your numbers. In France, a SIP trunk also has to fit Arcep's numbering plan and the caller ID authentication rules that came in to fight spoofing. Here's what that means when you choose a provider.
French numbers: 01–05, 09 and the rest
French numbers have ten digits. The ones a business usually needs:
- 01 to 05 are geographic: 01 Île-de-France, 02 north-west, 03 north-east, 04 south-east, 05 south-west.
- 09 numbers are non-geographic fixed numbers, common with internet-based services.
- 08 numbers are special-rate and freephone numbers.
The big change is that 01–05 numbers are no longer tied to a small local zone. Under Arcep's decision 2019-0954, since 1 January 2023 you can keep a 01–05 number when you move anywhere in mainland France, as with mobile and 09 numbers. A Lyon company can keep its 04 number after moving to Lille. (Some overseas territories follow their own rules.)
If you want every employee to have a direct number, ask your provider for a block of numbers with direct dial-in, called SDA (sélection directe à l'arrivée) in French offers.
Caller ID authentication
Spoofed calls are a big problem in France, and the rules have tightened:
- A law of 24 July 2020 requires operators to authenticate caller numbers and to cut calls whose number isn't properly authenticated. The mechanism (MAN, mécanisme d'authentification des numéros) has been rolling out since October 2024.
- Since 1 January 2026, operators must mask any French mobile number that can't be authenticated on calls coming from abroad.
- Automated calling systems that place more calls than they receive may not show 01–05, 06–07 or 09 numbers as caller ID. That rule has applied to 01–05 and 09 numbers since 1 January 2021.
What this means for you: send calls with your French numbers through a provider that can sign them for the French network. A foreign trunk showing a French number may fail authentication, and your calls may be cut or show no number. If you run outbound campaigns from a dialler, talk to your provider about which numbers you may use. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Porting your number with the RIO
Every French fixed number now has a RIO (relevé d'identité opérateur), a 12-character code that proves you hold the line. You give it to your new provider, and the new provider runs the port. You don't cancel the old contract yourself, because the port ends it.
From Arcep's portability decision:
- Since 1 December 2023 every fixed number, business lines included, has a RIO.
- For fixed numbers on a business offer, porting may take up to 7 working days, coming down to 3 working days by 1 July 2027, the same as for consumers.
- Since 1 July 2025 the RIO is required to port business numbers that aren't tied to a group of lines. From 1 July 2027 it's required for all fixed numbers.
- Business customers can schedule the port date, cancel a request and reverse a port.
- A cancelled number can still be ported for 40 days.
More on the steps in our porting guide.
Why now: the copper network is closing
Many French businesses are looking at SIP trunks because Orange is closing its copper network. According to Arcep, new copper lines can no longer be ordered in most towns, and lines are being switched off in yearly batches up to the end of 2030. If your current phone system still uses copper lines, our switch-off guide helps you plan the move.
A checklist before you sign
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Numbers | 01–05 for the region you want, 09, or both; SDA blocks for direct numbers. |
| Authentication | Does the provider sign your outgoing calls for the French network? |
| Porting | Do they handle the RIO-based port, and can you choose the date? |
| Channels | Enough for your busiest hour. On PBXfactory the number of seats also sets how many calls your PBX runs at once. |
| Emergency calls | How 15, 17, 18 and 112 are routed and which address is registered. |
| Codecs | G.711 A-law is the European standard. |
| Contract and support | Term, notice period, French-language support, outage response. |
Providers on Yeastar's certified list
Yeastar keeps a list of SIP trunk providers it has tested in France. Most of them were tested with P-Series Cloud Edition, the version you run on PBXfactory, for example Groupe Convergence and DIDWW. Those come as a ready-made template in the PBX. Check the product column for each entry. Other providers can work over standard SIP too, you'll just enter more settings yourself.
On PBXfactory
We don't sell SIP trunks or numbers. You choose your provider, add the trunk in your PBX's admin panel and port your numbers through them. Setting up trunks isn't part of our included support. Yeastar's documentation explains it step by step, and our Setup Assist package is there if you'd like help.