Whether you're a French national overseas or a holidaymaker on a Gallic retreat, a France VPN should definitely be on your shopping list – and the very best VPN will be able to give you access to all the streaming content you like, alongside unbeatable personal privacy.
Plenty of people are aware that France has a somewhat dubious record of Internet surveillance. While on the surface these measures appear to be reasonable and taken to avoid acts of terrorism, many citizens and visitors alike are concerned at just how much the government can actually see.
The country's participation in the '9 Eyes' alliance also means your data may be shared with other countries. A France VPN, however, can make you totally anonymous and evade any such tracking.
It's also worth noting that if you're a French national outside France, you won't be able to access networks such as TF1, France 2, M6, Arte and Canal+, as well as some shows on Amazon Prime and Netflix. With a France VPN, however, you can connect to a French server wherever you are, and voila! You've got access to all the French content you ever wanted.
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What makes a great France VPN?
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While France's Internet surveillance will concern some, restrictions aren't nearly as bad as those in countries like China – and, most importantly, VPNs are totally legal. That means you've got a huge variety to choose from depending on what you're looking for, but we would prioritize performance and security above everything else.
For just about everyone, we'd say that ExpressVPN delivers the best overall France VPN package. You'll get great speeds – perfect for streaming – alongside class-leading encryption and privacy. Add to that a verified no-logs policy, full torrent support and powerful content unblocking, and it covers all the bases.
However, there are a number of other worthy alternatives available. All you need to do is keep scrolling to discover which one's the right France VPN for you.
The best France VPNs today
If you want a France VPN that can do it all, ExpressVPN should be the first place you look. With support for Windows and Macs, plus iOS, Android, routers and devices like the Amazon Fire Stick, no matter what you want to use it on, you'll be able to stay covered.
Every worthy VPN has rock-solid privacy features, and ExpressVPN is the best of the bunch. With industry-standard AES-256 encryption alongside failsafe measures like a kill switch and Perfect Forward Secrecy, you can browse without worry. Plus, Express is also verified as no-logging, so the provider keeps no records of what you do online.
Many people will only really want a France VPN for streaming TV when abroad, though, so Express's content unblocking performance gives it a real edge in this area. No matter where you are, you'll be able to log on to a French server, head to a streaming site of your choice, and watch whatever you want as if you were in France. Or, if you are in France, you can select a server in another location and go exploring.
Backing all that up are excellent connection speeds, and performance is impressive when using both OpenVPN or ExpressVPN's proprietary LightWay protocol. If that sounds too complex, don't worry – Express's apps will auto-configure to give you the best performance possible.
And that's the pleasure of using ExpressVPN: whether you're an expert or an absolute newbie, it'll work perfectly without any fuss. If you want a powerful yet simple France VPN, ExpressVPN is your best option.
NordVPN is quite possibly the best-known VPN on the market, and with good reason. With tons of servers worldwide, seriously fast connections and competitive pricing, it's not surprising it's one of the most popular France VPN choices out there.
NordVPN's streaming performance is impressive, and no matter where you are – France or elsewhere – you should be able to unblock and watch just about anything you want. Its NordLynx protocol is great for this, and delivers incredible speeds so that you won't be left buffering.
NordVPN is also known for its powerful security features, including Double VPN, which routes your connection through two servers for extra protection, and Onion over VPN, which utilizes the Tor network for ultimate anonymity. Combined with a kill switch and a recent independent audit, Nord's a safe bet for privacy.
With six connections allowed at once, you should be able to cover all your devices, but it's worth noting that the interface of Nord's mobile VPN apps isn't as intuitive as we'd like. However, in reality you won't be looking at it for long, so it's a minor complaint.
Otherwise, Nord's a strong contender for best France VPN, and is well worth considering.
Head over to the NordVPN website to sign up
If you want a France VPN that won't break the bank, Surfshark could be the right choice for you. Coming in at under $2.50 a month it's far cheaper than the other premium VPN competitors, but despite that it gives them a real run for their money.
Most impressive is Surfshark's streaming performance. You can seamlessly select any server, anywhere, and get watching on your chosen site without a hitch. Combined with the great speeds delivered by the newly introduced WireGuard protocol, that makes Surfshark an excellent streaming VPN.
It also provides some clever privacy features not found on cheaper VPNs. One of these is Double Hop, which functions in much the same way as Nord's Double VPN and routes your connection through two servers. For a small extra fee you can also get BlindSearch and HackLock, which help you avoid Google's trackers and will alert you if your passwords are leaked on the Dark Web.
However, while Surfshark claims to be a no-log VPN (and we have no reason to doubt it), unlike NordVPN and ExpressVPN it hasn't undergone an independent audit of its infrastructure and policies. We'd really like to see that to confirm its privacy statements.
All things considered, though, for daily privacy and streaming use Surfshark is unbeatable its price, and well worth testing out.
Head over to the Surfshark website to sign up
CyberGhost is another good France VPN option for streaming fans, and if you go by the numbers, over 10 million users can't be wrong!
With a huge number of servers that deliver good speeds overall, CyberGhost has the basics down, but one feature we really like is the inclusion of server filters. If you want to watch sports on RMC, for example, you can press a button to find out which server will be most reliable and then connect. It's all very simple.
CyberGhost also has good privacy features, but while the apps are powerful, they can be a little complex to use. Just like Nord, this isn't a deal breaker, but it does affect the experience. The support system is also a little lacking, but it does the job adequately.
At just $2.25 a month on a three-year plan, however, CyberGhost is a seriously good value VPN that should have you covered for all your streaming needs.
Head over to the CyberGhost website to sign up
If maximum connection speed is your top priority in a France VPN, Hotspot Shield might be the way to go. As our top-rated fast VPN, no matter what you're doing you won't be slowed down.
Thanks to this, Hotspot Shield is excellent for streaming, and is a good choice if you want to unblock sites, whether you're in France or abroad. You'll get all the classics like Netflix, Prime and Disney+, alongside French sports channels and national TV networks.
However, while it's unbelievably fast, Hotspot Shield does come with a couple of downsides. You won't be able to cover any games consoles or Chromebooks, as device support is limited to Windows PC, Macs, Linux and mobile devices, plus a Chrome extension.
But, if all you want is excellent speeds on a mainstream device, Hotspot Shield will certainly be tempting – and if you're not sure, you can also test it out as a free VPN before you commit.
Head over to the Hotspot Shield website to sign up
France VPN FAQs
Why do I need a France VPN?
There are a few reasons why you might want a France VPN. Firstly, if you live in the country you might be aware that the French government is quite nosy, running surveillance programs around the clock. If you want to stay truly anonymous, you'll need to use a France VPN.
Streaming is also important to many. If you're in France, you might need to use a VPN to change you location to the US or UK to access geo-blocked content. If you're on holiday in France, you might want to set your VPN to your home country to watch the Netflix shows that you're used to.
Can I get a free France VPN?
Free services can be double-edged swords – while they can offer some of the benefits of a paid-for VPN, they're never the whole package.
One of the best is Hotspot Shield's free version which, as mentioned above. is nothing compared to the full edition.
While useful for very infrequent use, they're no good for streaming and torrenting, and you'll soon find yourself on the hunt for the best France VPN – even if it'll cost you a couple of euros a month.
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