I rented a car from National/Atesa at the Barcelona airport and drove it to Avignon, France. The car, a Citroen Picasso, has a flat tire. There's no spare, and the "pressure sealant" that was in the trunk simply leaked out of the tire without filling it.

I called the National/Atesa roadside assistance number, and they basically provided no assistance -- at least on a Saturday night. After about 4 phone calls, they muttered something about not having "coverage" in France. I actually paid a few dollars more to rent from them because the rate included all sorts of insurance coverages, and said I could drive to France (I never thought to ask whether I lost roadside assistance once I left Spain -- does that really happen?).

I'm now stuck in Avignon, and unless I can find somebody from National to help me (can National in France help me?), I guess I'll have to find a tire store and replace the tire (and hope somebody reimburse me). The locals I've run into so far seem to indicate that's hard to do on a Sunday. Is that true?

Any suggestions on what to do? It's amazing how such a small problem can be very disruptive and hard to solve when you're overseas.

EDIT: Does anyone have any experience with L'Automobile Cllub (FFAC)? I found them online. They do roadside assistance, and they seem to have some reciprocal benefits (no doubt modest) with AAA of the USA (of which I'm a member). If nothing else, they must have some experience with helping stranded motorists. I think I'll call them tomorrow.