two lines) Madame, Monsieur, In the case where the author knows the recipient well or is on friendly terms with him or her, one may add Cher/Chère in front of the address: Cher Monsieur, Chère Mademoiselle, (though this may be considered inappropriate for a male author who is not a close family relative of the recipient) Chère Madame, A salutation using Chère/Cher and a title (Madame/Monsieur/Docteur) followed by a person's name (e.g. Cher Monsieur Dupuis) used to be considered incorrect. However, maybe following English usage, such a construction is now rather common and deemed relatively formal. In case the author and the recipients are close friends or intimates, one may use the given name of the recipient immediately after Cher/Chère. In case they are family, they may use their familial link preceded by Cher/Chère. This is almost compulsory if the author is a younger member of the family (child to parent, nephew to aunt/uncle, grandchild to grandparent, godchild to godparent) and is left to the author's discretion in other cases. In French, the abbreviation for Monsieur is M.—the English "Mr." is incorrect though often used, especially by banks. Specific salutations If the recipient holds a specific title, it must be inserted after the Monsieur/Madame: Monsieur/Madame le Président, ("Mr./Madam President) Monsieur/Madame l'Ambassadeur, ("Mr./Madam Ambassador) Monsieur/Madame le Chancelier, ("Mr./Madam Chancellor) Monsieur/Madame le (Premier) Ministre, ("Mr./Madam (Prime) Minister) Monsieur/Madame le Directeur, ("Mr./Madam Director) Monsieur/Madame le Professeur, ("Mr./Madam Professor) In this case, one should always use Madame, and never Mademoiselle. In Québécois usage, many titles will be rendered in the feminine, contrary to practice in France (i.e. Madame la Présidente, Madame la Professeure, Madame la Directrice.) In some cases, the wife of a dignitary may be entitled to a special address: Madame l'Ambassadrice, (for the wife of an ambassador) Madame la Générale, (for the wife of an officer) Madame la Colonelle, (for the wife of a colonel) If the recipient is a doctor, it is possible to use Docteur, or, more formally, Monsieur/Madame le Docteur, or, more casually, Cher Docteur, as salutation. This is often done for doctors of medicine. For other doctors, it is not common, even if the use is increasing, following the Anglo-Saxon custom. Basically one has to be consistent with the address: a letter sent to "Dr N. N." will use a salutation formula including Docteur, whereas a letter sent to "M./Mme N. N." will not. If the recipient is