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I have a relative in a town called Les Pieux in Normandy.

What is the correct preposition to use to say, for example, that I am in this town?

I understand from this question that we would use "aux" for plural countries/regions but am unsure of the equivalent for towns.

I have heard suggestions of:

Je suis à Les Pieux.

Je suis aux Pieux.

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It might depend on the actual village. I know only of examples that do change.

  • town: Le Mans: je suis au Mans
  • town: Les Deux Alpes: je suis aux Deux Alpes
  • town: Les Sables-d'Olonne: je suis des Sables d'Olonne (I come from...)
  • county: Les Deux Sèvres: je suis en Deux Sèvres

Ultimately, the answer for Les Pieux is that it does change. The proof for that is that the city hall calls itself « Mairie des Pieux » and not « *Mairie de Les Pieux ». You can see that on their website (check the footer).

So the correct answer is: « je suis aux Pieux ».

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You should use :

Je suis à Les Pieux
Je suis à Paris etc...

For countries or region it will be « en » je suis en France, je suis en Normandie etc.

Je suis au Pieux : it is a way to say that you are in your bed.

Here you'll find exemples of these prepositions.

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  • Apologies, I had meant to say it's "aux" for plural countries.
    – Mark Pattison
    Jul 11, 2014 at 10:52
  • NP yes you are right, we says je suis aux Etats unis, aux bahamas etc...
    – HydroPoney
    Jul 11, 2014 at 10:56
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    Un pieu (no capital letter) is slang for lit, bed, and it has no x in the singular. So your sentence should be written Je suis au pieu.
    – None
    Jul 11, 2014 at 11:19

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