For a second there, I was trawling the web looking for info. Should've known just to go to Blackberry Cool...
So, here's the problem - the phone is only being released on Bouygues Business Services. Not that i'm going to trash Bouygues on a public forum (I saved that for the email to Blackberry Cool) or go into detail about the ins and outs, pitfalls and nuances of trying to set up a business in the bureaucratic country in which I now reside (even though I'm essentially self employed and heavily reliant on my Blackberry), it looks like the hover shoes are a safer bet for us non business customers on France's two dominant networks (Orange & SFR).
However, thanks for the update. I'll continue to live in hope