Business in france
We continue our series of articles about starting a business in different countries of the world. This time we will tell you how to start a business in France. Definitely, this is one of the most attractive and promising countries in Europe. France has long been part of the European Union and the United Nations, is a highly developed industrial country, and its economic indicators are among the best in Europe.
Why you should open a company in France
The French state is interested in the fact that as many companies as possible, including foreign entrepreneurs, are opened in the country. It is foreigners who create a predominant number of jobs in France, and make a significant contribution to the overall development of the country. Every year in France there are about 30 thousand new companies opened by foreigners. The French government is making every effort to create favorable business conditions for foreign investors. If you become one of them, you will not face severe restrictions or prohibitions.
Russian business in France
There are certain areas of activity in which foreign specialists are not admitted. For example, activities related to public administration. But this country’s policy is quite understandable. But there are a lot of industries in which foreigners (including Russian) have long and successfully developed their business in France. These include: catering, retail and wholesale, construction and real estate, hospitality, information technology and software. If you want to open a business in the field of education, medicine or law, then be prepared for the fact that you will have certain requirements regarding your level of education and work experience. Start, of course, better with a small business. So it will be easier for you to register a company and start managing it in a foreign country.
Documents for starting a business in France
In order to personally participate in the management of the company, you will need to obtain a temporary residence permit. And for this you will need to prove that your future company will be able to survive in the market and will not “deflate” in a week. Therefore, you need a business plan. The more detailed and reasonable it is, the better. A competent and thoughtful business plan will guarantee that your company can be efficient and bring some benefit to the country’s economy.
To open your company in France, you must submit a full package of constituent documents to the consolidated register of companies. Then register with the national list of companies and get the tax code assigned specifically to your company. The final step is to add a company to the Commercial and Civil Bulletin.
Often, Russian businessmen follow the path of opening their representative office in France. To do this, of course, you must already own a company in your country. Opening a representative office in France is usually easier and faster than registering a new company from scratch. To open a representative office, you will need to send to the commercial court the constituent documents and the company’s charter, then go through the entire registration procedure in the commercial register. You will be given a card of a foreign merchant and after that your representative office will be able to start its activity. All documents must have certified copies and be translated into French.
If you register a new enterprise in France and want to manage it yourself, you will also need a foreign merchant card. To obtain it, the obligatory conditions are registration of the legal address of the company and opening a bank account. The merchant card is issued at the French Embassy in your country. A year later, the card will need to be renewed. If you do not have any problems with the business, then do it quickly.
In the absence of a merchant card, you cannot be the official head of your company, but you can hire a French resident who has the necessary skills and qualifications for this purpose.
The merchant’s card will not be able to be obtained by persons previously convicted or recognized bankrupt in the past. A merchant card is issued not quickly, sometimes it takes up to 6 months to do this. Her cost – about 3 thousand euros.
Business in france
Types of businesses in France
The most common organizational and legal type of company in France is a limited liability company. The minimum amount of share capital for such companies is 7,500 euros. You need to make the full amount at once when registering a business The number of founders can vary from two to five. Financial statements on the activities of the enterprise must be prepared and submitted to the tax authority only once a year. However, there are risks. If the amount of the share capital during the year falls less than 50% of its original volume.
