Most public telephones only accept phone cards called télécartes, not coins. Purchase a télécarte from a post office or a café/tabac for 40FF or 96FF. To call a region of France from Paris dial 16 followed by the eight digit number. To call Paris from the provinces dial 16 then 1 followed by the eight digit number.
To be connected with an English-speaking operator in the U.S. dial “19” from any phone, wait for the tone, then dial “0011” for AT&T USA Direct Service, dial “0019” for MCI, or dial “0087” for Sprint.