France has free Wi-Fi at the Paris airports, in the city's parks and libraries, and on board TGV high-speed trains. Each of them, however, comes with clear conditions. The airport network asks for personal details such as your name and email address, the City of Paris network cuts you off every two hours, and TGV Wi-Fi is a 4G signal shared by everyone on the train. French mobile data, meanwhile, is fast, with a median download speed of about 133 Mbps, so for maps and ride-hailing apps right after landing your own data connection is the safer bet. This guide uses the airport operator, the City of Paris, the national railway SNCF and the telecoms regulator ARCEP to show how far you can rely on Wi-Fi in France.
If you want to be online the moment you land at Charles de Gaulle, you can set up a France eSIM before you leave. See the Coral eSIM plans for France and pick the data allowance that fits your stay.
Wi-Fi in France: plenty of free Wi-Fi, all of it with conditions
Travellers mainly come across four kinds of free Wi-Fi. At the airports, in Paris city venues and on the TGV, you pick the network and then complete a sign-up or consent page in your browser.
- Airports (Charles de Gaulle and Orly): free Wi-Fi in exchange for personal details, plus a faster paid tier
- Paris municipal venues: "Paris Wi-Fi" in parks, libraries and district town halls, in two-hour sessions
- TGV INOUI trains: free on-board Wi-Fi, but it relays the trackside 4G signal and is shared
- Hotels and cafés: run by each venue, with their own conditions and speeds
The Wi-Fi is there. Whether you can trust it with getting away from the airport, looking things up on a train, or paying and logging in is another question. Here are the official conditions, place by place.
Paris airport Wi-Fi at Charles de Gaulle and Orly: how it works
Free Wi-Fi at both Paris airports is provided by the airport operator Aéroports de Paris (Paris Aéroport). According to its website, you select the network "WIFI-AIRPORT" and the Wi-Fi home page opens automatically. The service is run by Hub One, a telecoms company in the same group.
Free Wi-Fi is conditional on sharing your details
Paris Aéroport's personal data policy for its free Wi-Fi (May 2019 version) defines the free service as Wi-Fi made available on condition that users provide certain information about themselves. The data listed are age range, country of residence, gender, name, email address and the device's MAC address, plus profile data if you log in with Facebook or LinkedIn.
- Data are kept for three years from your last connection
- Your country of residence and age range are used to tailor the offers shown on the login pages
- Marketing emails are only sent if you tick the consent box
- If you would rather not share your details, you can choose the paid high-speed (premium) Wi-Fi, which is free for members of the airport's loyalty programme
Because the policy dates from 2019, the fields you are asked to fill in may have changed. We could not confirm the session length or speed of the free Wi-Fi from official sources. If you want to contact your hotel or book a ride as soon as you clear passport control, a data connection of your own that does not wait for a sign-up page is the reliable option.
Paris Wi-Fi: free city Wi-Fi in parks and libraries, two hours at a time
The City of Paris runs a free network, "Paris Wi-Fi", open to residents and visitors alike. According to the city, it has more than 400 access points across more than 250 municipal sites, including parks and gardens, district town halls, libraries and city museums (the page was last updated in 2019).
- Select the "Paris Wi-Fi" network on your device
- Open your browser and fill in the sign-up form
- Accept the terms of use and connect
The service runs during each venue's opening hours, between 7 am and midnight. Each session lasts two hours, and you can reconnect by repeating the steps. The number of simultaneous connections is capped to keep speeds up, so at busy times you may not get on at all.
In its terms, the city states that the internet is not a secure network and that protecting your data is your responsibility. Connection logs (start and end times and the addresses visited, but not the content) are kept for up to 12 months. It is handy for checking a map in a park, but it is not a connection you can count on as you walk around the city.
Train Wi-Fi in France: free on TGV INOUI, not yet on TER or Transilien
On SNCF's TGV INOUI high-speed trains, on-board Wi-Fi is free. The network is called "_SNCF_WIFI_INOUI"; once connected, accept the terms or open "wifi.sncf" in your browser to finish logging in.
TGV Wi-Fi is a shared 4G relay
SNCF explains that equipment on the train picks up the trackside 4G signal and turns it into a Wi-Fi network. Its FAQ therefore warns that the connection slows down in areas of weak coverage or when many passengers are online. Because the Wi-Fi is shared, SNCF asks passengers to avoid streaming and large downloads and to download content before boarding. It also notes that a VPN switched on in advance can stop the login page from opening, in which case you should turn the VPN off.
Wi-Fi on other trains
- OUIGO low-cost TGV: Wi-Fi is a paid option
- Intercités: available on some lines
- TER regional trains and Transilien around Paris: on-board Wi-Fi has not been rolled out yet
Mobile internet speed in France: fast overall, weaker on trains
In Ookla's Speedtest Global Index (updated August 2026), France's median mobile speeds are 132.91 Mbps download, 9.48 Mbps upload and 27 ms latency, ranking 30th in the world. Fixed broadband is among the fastest anywhere, at 332.10 Mbps download and 5th in the world. Hotel lines are often fast, though the quality of in-room Wi-Fi depends on each property's equipment.
The weak spot is travel. In ARCEP's campaign of more than one million measurements between June and August 2025, web pages loaded within five seconds about 87% of the time on roads and 93% of the time in the metro, but only 64% of the time on TGVs and 65% on Intercités and TER trains. Since TGV Wi-Fi relies on the same 4G signal, it is safest to plan for dropouts on trains, whether you use Wi-Fi or your own data.
The network matters too. In ARCEP's measurements on TGV, Intercités and TER trains, Orange scored highest for both calls and web browsing. Ookla's analysis of rail-corridor data from March 2025 to March 2026 found median download speeds of 283.4 Mbps for Orange, 186.5 Mbps for SFR, 135.0 Mbps for Bouygues Telecom and 120.4 Mbps for Free. When choosing a travel eSIM, it is worth checking which network it connects to.
Using public Wi-Fi in France safely: the French government's advice
Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the French government's cyber-victim assistance service, lists among its ten essential measures that when you are out and about, you should prefer your mobile subscription over public Wi-Fi. It explains that public Wi-Fi is often poorly secured and can be controlled or spoofed by attackers, who could then capture passwords or card numbers. If you have no choice, it advises against sensitive operations such as card payments and recommends using a VPN where possible.
For travellers, the practical line is simple: do not use airport or café Wi-Fi for online banking, card payments or logging in to airline and hotel accounts. Switch to your own data first. We cover the risks in more detail in free Wi-Fi security when travelling.
France's main mobile operators are Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free, and buying a local prepaid SIM is another option. It involves an in-store process, so if you want data from the moment you land, setting up a travel eSIM before departure saves time (how to set up a travel eSIM).
Wi-Fi and internet in France: frequently asked questions
How do I use the free Wi-Fi at Charles de Gaulle Airport?
Select the "WIFI-AIRPORT" network and the Wi-Fi home page opens. Under the airport operator's policy, free Wi-Fi is conditional on providing details such as your name, email address and country of residence, and the data are kept for three years after your last connection. If you prefer not to share them, you can choose the paid high-speed Wi-Fi.
Is there free Wi-Fi around Paris?
The City of Paris runs "Paris Wi-Fi" at more than 250 sites, including parks, libraries, district town halls and city museums. You need to fill in a sign-up form, and it is available from 7 am to midnight in two-hour sessions. Simultaneous connections are capped, so it is not always available.
Is Wi-Fi on the TGV free?
Yes, on TGV INOUI. It relays the trackside 4G signal and is shared, so SNCF asks passengers to avoid streaming and large downloads. On OUIGO it is a paid option, and TER and Transilien trains have no on-board Wi-Fi.
How fast is mobile internet in France?
Ookla's index, updated in August 2026, puts France's median mobile download speed at 132.91 Mbps, 30th in the world. On trains it is weaker: ARCEP found that web pages loaded within five seconds only 64% of the time on TGVs.
Is it safe to pay by card on free Wi-Fi in France?
It is not recommended. The French government's Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr says public Wi-Fi is often poorly secured, and advises using your mobile subscription when out and about and never making card payments or other sensitive operations on public Wi-Fi.
In France, treat Wi-Fi as a backup and secure your own data with an eSIM
France has plenty of free Wi-Fi that genuinely works at airports, in parks and on the TGV. Each network has its conditions: personal data kept for three years at the airport, two-hour sessions and set hours on Paris Wi-Fi, and a shared link on the TGV that depends on coverage and crowding. Mobile data, on the other hand, is fast and often more dependable than Wi-Fi. Use hotel and park Wi-Fi as a backup, and rely on your own data for the trip from the airport, time on trains, and anything involving payments or logins. Setting up a travel eSIM before you leave is the most reliable way to prepare for France.
See the Coral eSIM plans for France, or browse all destinations if you are touring several countries.
