France has prioritised investment in high-speed fixed broadband in recent years

The French city of Lyon has a particularly extensive fibre network
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The French city of Lyon has been ranked as currently having the best fixed line broadband connection in the world. 

The international internet speed testing platform, Speedtest, updated its Global Index in June, stating that the leaderboard “now includes internet speed rankings for some of the world’s largest cities.” Prior to 2022, it only featured countries.

Lyon currently sits at the top of the list, displaying a median download speed of 347.52Mbps, due to the city’s particularly extensive fibre network.

A total of 97% of addresses in Lyon are currently eligible for fibre-optic network connection, according to Ma Connexion Internet, an interactive online tool developed by French communications regulation authority Arcep.

Read also: How to check the quality of internet where you live in France

Paris is the second French city on the ranking, coming in 23rd place with a median download speed of 238.51Mbps.

“Our list includes the two largest cities from each country. The cities must also have over 500,000 inhabitants and sufficient samples to be included. They are ranked according to median download speed based on Speedtest data from the month prior,” reads a blog post shared by Speedtest’s owner, Ookla. 

Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates ranks second (344.34Mbps) and Valparaíso in Chile ranks third (330.57Mbps).

France sits in third place in the country list with a median download speed of 319.43Mbps, behind Singapore (393.15Mbps)* and Hong Kong (323.87Mbps). 

France’s high-ranking position is largely down to the Plan France Très Haut Débit, an initiative that aimed to cover 100% of premises (households and workplaces etc.) with internet speeds over 30Mbps by the end of 2022, and offer speeds over 100Mbps by 2025.

Mobile internet connection also ranked

Paris and Lyon perform less effectively when it comes to mobile internet speed, ranking 35th (181.06Mbps) and 40th (170.16Mbps) respectively. 

Arcep has another tool called Mon Reseau Mobile, that shows the mobile data coverage and network speed across France.

Read more: Mon réseau mobile: which phone operator provides the best signal near you in France?

*Note that Singapore does once not appear on the ‘City’ Speedtest Global Index (despite scoring higher than Lyon for internet speed) as the country itself is a city-state.