French formal letters

Letters are still standard tools for correspondence in business and administrative
communication, for product or service requests or complaints, to accompany job
applications and other formalities.

Writing a
properly worded and formatted letter gives credibility to its content, whatever that
is. Even if a letter is sent as an attachment to an e-mail, the correct form can
easily be followed.

Putting everything in its proper place is a good start. The return address belongs
at the top left of the page and the recipient’s address starts below it to the right
side. Below that, the town or city from which the letter is being sent is included
along with the date.
The golden rule
"Vous" is always used for a formal letter, never "tu".
French salutations
The salutation is also very formal and includes the recipient’s title when
appropriate, as in Monsieur le Directeur. Alternately, use Monsieur, Cher
Monsieur, Messieurs or Madame, Chère Madame or Mesdames.
Content
The body of the letter should be concise, to the point and formally polite.
 If you are following up on a previous letter, you might start with, “Suite à ... je vous
écris pour…” or “Nous vous remercions de votre lettre du …”.
 If your letter is a request for something, you can use “Je vous serais reconnaissant de
... “ or “Je vous prie de ...”.
Signing off
You might end with, “Dans l’attente de votre réponse ...”, then sign off with one of
these phrases, which sound much more formal than the accepted “Yours
sincerely” in English but are de rigueur in a French formal letter:
 Je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur le Directeur, l’assurance de ma considération
distinguée
 Veuillez accepter, Messieurs (or Monsieur or Madame), mes salutations distinguées
 Croyez, cher Monsieur (or chère Madame), à l’expression de mes sentiments les
meilleurs
French personal letters
French personal letters are much more informal. Your return address sits at the
top right of the page and below it your location and the date, but the recipient’s
address is not required.

You may also

use “tu” for anyone you would address that way in person and start with Cher or
Chère followed by a given name.

Some useful phrases to start with include:

 Je te remercie de ta lettre ...
 Ça m’a fait plaisir d’avoir de tes nouvelles.

Or, if you’re a procrastinator:

 Je suis désolé de ne pas t’avoir écrit plus tôt.

The body of the letter can be as chatty and friendly as if you were talking to the
person.
Sign off affectionately with:
 Je t’embrasse bien affectueusement
 Grosses bises (very informal)

Or more simply with:

 Bien amicalement
 À bientôt

To include other friends or family in the letter, you might add:

 Embrasse Sophie pour moi.
 Paul te fait ses amitiés.
Addressing the envelope
If you’re mailing your letter, here are guidelines for addressing the envelope, line
by line:
1 – Recipient’s name

Begin with Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle followed by the recipient’s full

name, as in Monsieur Jacques Untel. This is polite form for both formal and
informal letters. For a married couple, use Monsieur et Madame Untel.

On a business letter envelope, you can use the person’s title instead, for
example, Madame la directrice.
2 – Recipient’s title

If you’ve used the person’s name in the first line, use the second line for his or
her title, for example, Directrice, Service à la clientele.
3. - Company or organization

Use the full name or accepted abbreviation, as in Hôtel Au Bon Accueil and
SNCF.
4 – Number, name and type of street
Full street names can be abbreviated, e.g. av for avenue, as in 45 av de la
République, or bd for boulevard, as in 15 bd de Beaumanoir. If there’s no street
address, this is where you put the post box number.
5 – Postcode and town or city

The postcode comes before the name of the town, as in 75010 Paris.

Return addresses should be written on the back of the envelope with the
abbreviation "Exp.” (short for Expéditeur/-trice).