I brought 2 three way lamps from the US to London 8 years ago and was not able to utilise the 3 way function because there are no 3 way bulbs in the UK.  I recently purchased a Philips 55 watt halogen dimmable bulb, inserted it into the lamp and now have a lamp that produces two levels of brightness. My wife was very happy!  I am using a US to UK adapter on the wire plug. Now the mystery - I purchased a couple of new 3 way lamps from the U.S. and shipped them to France.  Instead of using an adapter, I decided to replace the US plugs with French plugs.  I took the Philips bulb from London to France, inserted it into the lamp and I do not get a lamp that produces two levels of brightness.  It only produces one level.  Does anyone know how to fix this issue so that I get a lamp in France that produces two levels of brightness?  Thank you.