KPN mobile phone clients in France are experiencing great difficulty making and receiving calls because of an unsolved technical hitch.

Now, KPN has called in small French provider Free to help Dutch holidaymakers make phone calls in the big cities and along the Riviera. The solution is only a temporary one, KPN said. Mobile internet is not possible.

The technical hitch means there has been a breakdown in communication between KPN and French phone firms to provide roaming services, Nos television said.

France is the most popular summer holiday destination for the Dutch.