Lack of transparency in corporate and governmental affairs. It is no accident.
Gets worse the further south you go.
By the time you get to Botswana it approaches 100%.
If you think France is a bit “random” try Spain or better still Italy 
For Italy, one can be looking at dozens of emails just to sort out PN/PPR, plus whether the cost will be €50 or €500, at a few candidate airports, discovering stuff which is not in the AIP (of course).
I don’t think it is so much ambiguous. More that it keeps changing.
The implication was that it’s ok, but I’ll let someone else check this first…
Sounds like a good news, still ok in principal
Indeed, auto-info radio calls on are on tape as well in lot of airports, the next day, you get compliments on your join and radio calls and then one day you get bollocking for the SS+40min landing 
Edit: I just called customs by phone, indeed it’s 08LT-18LT with 2h PN, the extension is O/R possible but subject to aerodrome manager and douaniers approval and need more notice
How is it, that despite such extensive collective knowledge, and a combination of English and French speakers, that all this information is still so ambiguous?
What a mess.
I called the office at Calais but it redirected to the AFIS. The ‘physical’ douanes are there at least 10 hours a day, and they have cameras so can check what happens outside these times. The implication was that it’s ok, but I’ll let someone else check this first…
Train platform? like Eurostar
« Autre plateforme » means other airport IMO.
Go ask someone else your crazy question
Pre-Brexit I’ve been through Calais late, 2000 local and deserted, without problem
That may have changed a bit, although I am not sure if I was unlucky talking to the wrong person, apparently airports now can refuse O/R or PN in AIP/VAC if they don’t like your arrival & departure hours or days
I was told recently it’s not possible to use airports like Calais, Rouen, Beauvais…at 5am, one has to use “opening hours” or use “another platform” whatever that means, I am still trying to get a clarification on this from official sources, it seems for now the only choices for an early flight are Lille, Ostend or LeBourget…just a side note, some people in charge are not aware that French airports stay open H24 on auto-info without operations & controllers, so maybe better let that dog sleep !
Few years ago, we landed there from UK at 11pm for few night circuits and swapping crew, PCL PPR and 24h PN with no issues from customs & airport manager
They must only be there x hours a day, e.g. banking hours. Pre-Brexit I’ve been through Calais late, 2000 local and deserted, without problem. Now, with passport stamping, no idea. I’ll call the operator to see what they say.
There was skydiving so plenty of spectators and family members walking through in both directions, they and the douane completely ignoring each other.
So, let me get this right… they are saying they will always be there, rather than not turn up and threaten that they might do something nasty if you pass through without the stamp?
As reported here, at La Rochelle there is/was zero police presence (for PN’d traffic) so there you won’t get a stamp.
It is of course completely unjust to publish a PN and then not turn up and then threaten pilots who did the PN that they are going to be in trouble just because the police could not be bothered to turn up. The only way this PN system can work is the way the UK GAR system works: you do the PN (the GAR) and that is the full extent of your obligation.
Police love exceeding their powers – everywhere. It is inherent in the personality on which their recruitment self-selects. Here in the UK they, for some years, phoned you up, often at 3am, with a PTF (permission to fly) number. No support for this in the law, but it took a few years of brave people (myself included) telling them this practice is not supported by the law, before they stopped.
