The Best VPNs for France

Inside France, you’re limited to local streaming services and content libraries. That means no Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Paramount+, and no international versions of Netflix or DAZN.

France also comes with a unique blocker: the “chronologie des médias“, a legally mandated gap between a movie’s theatrical release and its arrival on streaming platforms.

Netflix waits 15 months, other paid platforms wait 17 months, and free-to-air broadcasters (e.g. TF1 and France TV) wait 22 months.

Compare that against the 30 to 45 days that’s typical in the UK and US and the gap is stark: same subscription, same movie, over a year longer to wait.

A top-rated VPN sidesteps this by changing your online location and letting you stream content from other countries.

This goes both ways: you can also use a VPN if you’re outside of France and need a French IP address. A VPN can unblock geo-restrictions on French platforms like TF1+, France TV, and Canal+.

France has one of the highest densities of public WiFi networks in Europe, and a lot of those networks are open, requiring no authentication at all.

This comes with real risks: research from Kaspersky found that 25% of Paris networks are unsafe and just 6% use the WPA3 security protocol.

Risks can include third parties intercepting your traffic, which may contain sensitive information like passwords and bank details.

To stay secure on public WiFi, you should connect to a reputable VPN and only disconnect once you’re on a trusted network.

Every VPN I recommend below uses best-in-class encryption to protect your personal data.

Digital services that handle sensitive data (like online banking) often treat a foreign IP addresses as a red flag. This includes payment platforms like PayPal and Venmo.

Even banking apps designed for travel, such as Wise and Revolut, can flag a new session abroad as suspicious.

You can use a VPN to securely connect to your home country, from your physical location in France, and continue using your bank as normal.

Surfshark is one of the best VPNs available and only narrowly misses out on my list.

While it’s well-priced, secure, and great for streaming, it only supports 76 French servers.

This simply isn’t enough servers, especially spread across 3 cities, and my download speeds connecting into France suffered as a result.

As shown on its website, Surfshark has very few servers in France.

IPVanish is one of the fastest VPNs I’ve tested. However, it struggles to unblock as many international streaming services as ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. Unfortunately, this is the same for French streaming services.

In my streaming tests, IPVanish failed to unblock TV5Monde.

PIA has a huge server network, which is usually ideal for connecting into many countries. For instance, it’s a great VPN for getting a US IP address.

France is where it comes unstuck. It unblocked only 45% of the French streaming platforms I tested it with, and offers a single French server location.

PIA doesn’t unblock France.tv and other French streaming services.

PrivadoVPN is usually a good free VPN option, but it fails to access important French TV channels like TV5Monde and M6+. Windscribe is a much better free VPN for France.

PrivadoVPN’s free service often fails to stream French TV channels.

Proton VPN is one of the only free VPNs without a data limit, but it doesn’t offer access to a French server location. You can’t choose your own location either, since it connects you automatically to whichever free server it considers fastest.

Proton VPN offers free servers in 10 countries, including the US, Canada, and Switzerland.

• Test Conducted: Worked through each VPN’s server list and noted down the total number of locations, as well as any city-level options.
• Why It’s Important: A large server network increases the number of countries you can connect to and streaming services you can unblock. It also minimizes speed loss by ensuring you have a server nearby.
• Optimal Results: Servers in over 100 countries, including city-level choice in popular locations like the US, the UK, and Canada.

• Test Conducted: Counted the number of France servers in each VPN’s server network. I also counted the number of city-level servers in France. Lastly, I used an IP address tool to check the server was indeed in that location.
• Why It’s Important: You need a French IP address to access French TV channels and websites.
• Optimal Results: The VPN has hundreds of servers in multiple French cities.

• Test Conducted: Performed manual speed tests with each VPN and recorded download speed, upload speed, and ping times when connecting into France.
• Why It’s Important: Fast speeds enable you to stream video smoothly and browse the internet seamlessly.
• Optimal Result: Less than 15% drop in download speed when connecting to VPN servers in France from neighboring countries.

• Test Conducted: Tested each VPN with the most popular streaming services from around the world and in France. I also recorded any buffering or noticeable drops in video quality.
• Why It’s Important: It allows you to watch content you otherwise wouldn’t have had access to.
• Optimal Results: Consistent access to popular international platforms (like US Netflix, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer) and French services (like Arte, Canal+, and France TV).

• Test Conducted: Analyzed each VPN’s privacy policy and record what data was logged and for how long.
• Why It’s Important: Unsafe VPNs store excessive amounts of personal data, which can be used to identify individual users.
• Optimal Result: No-logs policy evidenced by a court case or server seizure. Diskless servers and regular independent audits.

• Test Conducted: Tested each VPN’s encryption and kill switch for data leaks. Noted whether VPNs offer safe protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN, as well as extra security features like ad blockers, split tunneling, and double VPN.
• Why It’s Important: IP and HTML5 geolocation leaks can prevent you from unblocking French content abroad. Strong VPN encryption ensures your browsing activity and personal details are kept private.
• Optimal Result: Zero data leaks, an effective kill switch, strong encryption, and safe protocols.