Poste, la

   The French post office and mail delivery service. A nationalised service, today's La Poste was known, until recently, as les PTT, Poste, Télégraphe et Télécommunications; the PTT was divided up into its two principal constituents, the postal service and telecommunications, in order to prepare France Telecom for partial privatisation. La Poste benefits from a national monopoly in delivery of letters, but has become increasingly subject to competition from specialised companies for the delivery of parcels, and is currently (2008) on the verge of transformation into a private company (S.A.). La Poste also runs a banking service, known as the Banque Postale (formerly the CCP).