Legally Unlocked Phone from France

Question

1. Will the iPhone purchased in France, which is legally unlocked, work in the US and other countries with a local pre paid sim. I plan to use it in Italy, India, Philippines, Russia, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, USA and other countries. I am looking for ACTUAL experiences from users, thank you.
2. Will Orange, the Apple iPhone seller in France, sell the phone for cash in France, or do they require credit card?
I have heard that if you buy the phone using a credit card, it must be a French credit card, so therefore i must use cash in the local store in France.
I would of course buy a USA iPhone, but i am only here one month a year, and travel the world for work the rest of the time - which is why, if I use an iPhone, i want the legal unlocked French version to avoid the approx $2/min roaming charges.
Many of my business associates would also like to know the answers to these questions.
I have seen many Topics on this forum with speculation, arguments, debates, etc regarding this topic, but i would like please either an official Apple answer, or actual user experience - thanks.
Note - I have contacted customer service, customer sales, online Apple.com chat and my local store with no answer. If I go to France before the new phone comes out, which may happen, the older phone they have in stock there is 700 Euro which is more than one thousand dollars, so I would like to know beforehand if it will be functional.
Thanks.

Answer 1

In regards to 1 and 2, I do not know.
In regards to 3, I personally believe so. However, I have not specifically been trained on the iPhone outside of the U.S.
The best bet for questions 1-3 is to contact AppleCare Europe or Orange.
In regards to 4, yes, that is what the silver Apple logo next to my name means. My posts are under the Terms of Use, including this section specifically:
Important: Employees of Apple Computer, Inc. ("Apple") may respond to issues within this forum. Apple is under no duty to provide a response to an issue, or to do so in a timely manner. If Apple responds to an issue, it is Apple's intent that the information provided is accurate and reliable. However, given the expectation of the forum to provide real-time responses, not all information will be readily verifiable. ACCORDINGLY, APPLE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY IT UNDER THIS FORUM, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON INFRINGEMENT. Users of this forum may want to refer to information provided by Apple through its Knowledge Base database at www.apple.com/support for more detailed information on a particular issue. Apple may provide information that is relevant to an international issue, which may contain references or cross references to Apple products, programs, and services that are not announced in your country. Such reference does not imply that Apple intends to announce such products, programs, or services in your country.
Hope this helps,
Nathan C.