The Best VPNs for France

The best VPNs for France assign you a French IP address and unblock geo-restricted French streaming services like France TV, TF1, and TV5Monde from anywhere in the world.

We tested 62 VPNs to identify the highest-quality VPNs with many French servers, fast download speeds, wide device compatibility, and reliable access to French TV.

The table below compares each VPN recommendation for France based on number of servers in France, ability to unblock geo-restricted French streaming services, and price.

You can get a French IP address as long as you have a VPN with servers in France. Follow these simple steps to get a French IP address:

The video below shows us using ExpressVPN to connect to its Paris server and quickly get a French IP address:

All three VPNs we recommend on this page can access Netflix’s French library.

Once downloaded and installed, using them to unblock content titles only available in France is very simple.

You can use a VPN to change your location, get a French IP address, and watch french TV from abroad.

In the video below, we showcase how easy the process is. We used ExpressVPN to get a French IP address and stream the previously blocked Filles de feu on Chaîne 2:

Using the method outlined above, you can also use a VPN to watch French TV Channels 2, 3, 4, 5, and Culturebox on France TV (france.tv).

We tested 62 VPNs for France. While there are lots of VPNs with French servers, not every VPN is able to unblock French streaming services or provide fast international speeds.

Here’s a breakdown of other VPNs that are too unsafe to use for France:

VPN Service	Reason for Exclusion
France VPN	Actually an unsafe proxy, not a VPN Doesn’t encrypt your data Untrustworthy company Logs excessive amount of data
Urban VPN	Actually a proxy, not a VPN service Logs your IP address and browsing activity

Below are some other popular VPNs we tested for France, but didn’t make our list of suggestions, alongside the reasons why:

NordVPN

NordVPN almost made it into our France VPN recommendations thanks to fast speeds and ability to stream French streaming services.

The reason we haven’t added it to our list is because it only has two server locations in France (Paris and Marseille), compared to our recommendations that have three.

Surfshark

Surfshark is another high-quality VPN that just missed out on our top recommendations for France. We decided to exclude Surfshark from our list because it suffers from slower long-distance connection speeds and takes longer than competitors to connect to VPN servers.

IPVanish

IPVanish is one of the fastest VPNs we’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.

Private Internet Access

PIA has a huge server network, which is usual ideal for connecting into many countries. For instance, it’s our recommended VPN for getting a US IP address. Sadly, it’s not great for France, since it only unblocked 45% of French streaming platforms we tested it with, with only one French server location on offer.

PrivadoVPN Free

PrivadoVPN is usually a good free VPN option, but it fails to access important French TV channels like TV5Monde and M6 (6Play). Windscribe Free is a much better free VPN for France.

ProtonVPN Free

ProtonVPN Free is the only free VPN without a data limit, but it doesn’t have a French server location.

We maintain a database of every major VPN, its server network, and the number of countries available to connect to. You can see a snapshot of the data we keep below:

As a result, we know exactly which VPNs have servers in France and which do not.

As you can see, most VPNs have servers in France. However, the quantity and quality of servers differs, as well as each VPN’s performance and safety. This is why we recommend sticking to our VPN recommendations for France.

Which VPNs Do Not Have Servers in France?

Despite the lack of France servers, our tests found Windscribe Free remains a good option if you don’t want to pay for a VPN for France.

You need a VPN if you want to access French websites or streaming services from outside of France, since many are geo-restricted.

VPNs bypass these geo-blocks by assigning you a French IP address, making it look like you’re using the internet in France.

You can see the full results of our streaming tests in the table below:

In the table below, you can see how our top-rated France VPNs performed in five key testing categories. These categories collectively contribute to each VPN’s overall rating for France:

VPNs with a data cap receive a reduction to their overall rating.

You can read a more detailed breakdown of our testing categories below, alongside the percentage of the overall France rating each category represents:

France Server Locations: 30%

• Test Conducted: Counted the number of France server in each VPN’s server network. We also counted the number of city-level servers in France. Lastly, we 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.

France Streaming: 30%

• Test Conducted: We tested every major VPN with Arte, Canal+, France Télévisions (France TV), Gulli, M6(6Play), Molotov, MyCanal, Netflix France, RTBF, TF1, and TV5Monde.
• Why It’s Important: Not every VPN is able to unblock French streaming platforms outside France.
• Optimal Result: Unblock every streaming service we tested.

Speed: 20%

• 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 local countries.

Privacy & Logging Policy: 10%

• Test Conducted: Analyzed each VPN’s privacy policy and record what data was logged and for how long. The best VPNs do not log any identifying data, like your IP address, timestamps, or DNS requests.
• 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.

Security & Technical Features: 10%

• 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.