Originally Posted by
tranmerechris
Is the Navigo like the Oyster Card in London? If you wanted to use it just for a single trip one week, for example, will it debit off the cost of one ticket from your 'account' automatically after you have made the trip?
Or can you only load a Carte Orange zonal pass onto your Navigo?
No, apparently that's in the works for some point in the future, but for now you can only load either the weekly or monthly Carte Orange in your choice of zones.
Regarding
asdca's comment about the machines, normally those require a credit/debit card with a compatible smart chip in it; if you tried a card with only a magnetic strip, that would explain why it didn't work. Otherwise, you can go to the ticket window to have them load it using your credit card.