Keep your Orange email address

Since you're being offered a Thunderbird tutorial on the Orange forum, why not.
I won't add anything, there are tutorials everywhere, and you can always come back here if you have a problem. Indeed, among the free email software, Thunderbird is a good idea.
The first steps involve setting it up, which is fairly simple, but you'll need to have your current Orange email account name and its password at hand; the latter can be found in the documentation that Orange sent you if you don't know it by heart.

At the first connection, things are not going to go well, since the software will download everything on the Orange server, whether there are 100 emails or 1000.

This will be the time to clean up and delete what is no longer needed.

As for the rest, with Thunderbird, I don't know anymore, I haven't used it for years, but the good plan is, if possible, to sort the emails into thematic folders if you want to have a chance of finding your way around.

When you have a new provider, you will create a new folder in Thunderbird with the credentials of this new provider.
After that, opinions are divided; you can either keep the Orange archives until the end, or move them to the new folder, but that's not necessarily a great idea since the Orange address might have become inactive.

The next step then is to send an email to your providers, friends, and everyone else informing them of the change of email address.
For forums and other administrative sites, it's less simple; you have to log in and change your credentials.

That's all I can think of tonight, but I just got back from sports, there was a third half...

Hello
ARTICLE 6. DATE OF CONCLUSION - DURATION The Service is accessible to the User from the activation of the Internet Access Service to which they have subscribed as a Client. Access to the Service is an accessory to the subscription contract for the Orange Internet Access Service. Consequently, the termination of the subscription contract for the Internet Access Service implies the cessation of access to the Service and the closure of their Orange mailbox(es), subject to the User's ability to maintain these mailboxes for a period of six (6) months following termination, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 44-1 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
https://www.commentcamarche.net/faq/19203-conserver-sa-messagerie-orange-apres-resiliation
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The truth of today is not the same as that of tomorrow.

@maryll ,

For the installation, I took the time to write a step-by-step tutorial made for those who barely know how to use a computer mouse (“papou22”, in the Orange forum, that's me). In principle, it's painless if you follow each step exactly before moving on to the next one.

The other tutorials are of the same kind. Just follow along!

If it still seems insurmountable, get help from someone to whom you can show the link.

Hello,

Yes, I left Orange and I still have the Orange voicemail.

Best regards.

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Ray

Thank you for your response. So, apart from these 6 months, is it impossible? And to keep my received and sent emails?... I have very important medical emails that I would like to keep :-(
And what does going to open access mean...? How to do it?...
Thank you for your answers ;-))

OK! For free access, found in old questions :(
So, download Thunderbird on my computer and back it up with my external hard drive.
I will check your link and try to make my neurons work because these things are worse than Chinese for me!!! LOL
Thank you for your answers!
Have a great weekend :-))

Thank you so much
I hadn't seen your reply.
If the Yaka follow doesn't work, I'll ask a friend LOL
Thanks again.
Have a good evening.