Take precautions against the loss of your passport, and prepare to prove your citizenship in the unhappy event that your passport is lost or stolen. Keep a photocopy of the identifying page of your passport (photo, I.D. information and passport number) in a safe place with you (but separate from your passport), and leave another copy at home. It is also recommended that you keep your passport separate from other identification. It is a good idea to memorize, note or copy all other information recorded in your passport as well.

If your passport is lost or stolen, notify the local police and the nearest embassy (or consulate) immediately. A passport can take weeks to replace, though some embassies are able to process a new passport in a couple of days. In an emergency, you can ask for immediate temporary travel papers, which will allow you to re-enter your home country. In some cases, your new passport may only be temporary. Any visas stamped into your original passport will be lost. To process the replacement, you will need to prove your citizenship, show identification and provide all information previously recorded in your passport.

It is a good idea, before you leave, to view the list of consulates and embassies in France and to note the addresses and telephone numbers of those of your home country.

Please note that your passport is a public document, and thus belongs to the Government that issued it. French officials are entitled to make you surrender your passport, but if you do not retrieve it after a reasonable amount of time, notify your nearest embassy or consulate.

More information, including temporary warnings, is available from the U.S. State Department Consular Information on France as well as the newspaper USA Today on line.