Let’s talk about cultural differences as a freelancer in France. If you plan to move to France and create your own business, this will give you an idea of what to expect. You might want to add to the list!
1 - Embrace the slower pace
This one might come as a shock and you probably didn’t expect to see “freelancing” and “slower pace” in the same sentence! Don’t worry, entrepreneurs are still fast to act, but you have to be prepared for the slow administrative processes.
Let me take a few examples to illustrate this:
- Registering a business cannot be done within an hour. It’s more likely to take 2 to 15 days for a Micro Entrepreneur, to 2 or 3 weeks for an incorporated business such as EURL/ SARL, SAS/SASU.
- Your paperwork will be thoroughly checked before your business creation is validated. A good example is manual activities called Artisans where you might have to prove your qualifications. Although INPI takes the registration, in the back office Chambre de Metiers still has the upper hand to check your qualifications and paperwork. AND they aren’t fully digitalised, hence the delay. I have a couple of customers for whom we waited from 3 weeks to 2 months (Haute Savoie/Chamonix, Gironde/ Bordeaux ).
- Your health cover as a new resident in France will take up to 3 to 4 months to be processed. This is because your ID is thoroughly checked by a national body before your permanent French social security number and carte vitale are issued. Be reassured, you can work in the meantime. It just means that you will have to pay your health care cost upfront, before being reimbursed later. Expect delays if your name on your ID documents doesn’t match your birth certificate (same thing for a visa request).
- If you’ve made a mistake with your tax declaration (URSSAF or Impots), this will take weeks to fix, because it’s done by postal mail. A customer recently went over the VAT threshold without noticing and we are fixing her past URSSAF and VAT declaration. This is done… by postal mail and I expect a delay of one to two months to fix it.
Be ready to embrace not only the slower pace of life but also the slower admin flow. It’s happening, but not at the rhythm you might be accustomed to. It’s normal, so no need to get stressed about it. Just make a note to double-check in 2-3 weeks where it stands.
2 - Your accountant will ghost you
Again, this one may be a shocker! Accountants are still pretty old-fashioned, although you start to have a younger generation using digital tools. And I guess that this may improve with AI, as you will have more automatic analysis and flags, with accountancy platforms enabling you to take action.
But in general, if you hire an accountant locally to create your business or yearly loss and profit account, you won’t hear from them in between these 2 missions. Anything that isn’t listed on your initial quote “lettre de mission” will be invoiced at an hourly rate.
Your accountant isn’t your BFF, and it’s up to you to build the relationship. Don’t expect things to get done if you don’t ask. For your first meeting, clarify who does what, which kind of documents you need to gather, how you will send them as well as the person handling your account. It won't necessarily be the accountant you saw.
Your accountant won’t keep an eye on your margin or call to warn you. This only happens when the loss and profit is done and you ask for these numbers to be explained to you. Make sure you track your own numbers and key turnover thresholds.
Instead, call your accountant to check that you are on track and ask for advice before the end of the financial year. this will leave you time to take action if needed (I.e invest, pay yourself mileage or rent, Plan Epargne Retraite, pension funds, etc).
Even better, take your accountant out for lunch once a year, or send chocolates or wine at Christmas. It always pays off.
3 - Holidays & working in 6-week batches
Did you know that kids have holidays every 6 weeks in France, plus 2 months off in the summer? If you have kids, learn to work in 6-week batches or 6-week sprints to get things done.
You might be moving to France to actually get to spend more time with your family. But believe me, it comes quickly! And if your kids are toddlers (below 5 years old), it’s hard to find activities or clubs, so they might be home a lot.
French people get around this, by asking each grand-parents “papy et mamie” to take their kids on holidays. This is why train stations are always super busy for the holidays - parents or Papy-Mamie do a return trip to the countryside “la province” to drop their kids off. Spend the weekend in Brittany or Normandy, then back to Paris to work.
I can hear you say “It’s OK for me Valerie, I don’t have kids, or they are grown up”.
I’m afraid that this may still impact you because:
- Your customers, bank manager, accountant, and suppliers, might be on holiday too.
- Everyone in France follows this rhythm to go on holiday.
And some months it’s just hard to get hold of anyone: Hello May and August! While July and December are slower - Hello slow visa approvals or renewals!
4. The entrepreneur culture is spreading
France has caught up with to the Entrepreneur or Freelancer culture. With the launch of the Micro Entrepreneur in 2009, many people have been testing a market, a hobby or new career and moved onto Freelancing full-time.
There are many coworking spaces, tiers-lieux (meaning "thrid place" with a mixture of business, research & cultural events). For instance Station F or Numa in Paris for start-ups, La Ruche or La Recyclerie in Paris, Darwin in Bordeaux for tiers lieux and other cool places to work from and get inspired.
Also look for start-up incubators “les incubateurs” and tech support schemes with “La French Tech”. For instance Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Toulouse, Lyon, Alsace. Each has its own speciality for instance BioTech & MedTech in Alsace.
There are also many networking events for entrepreneurs. From conferences such as Ted Talks, to networking events such as Café des Entrepreneurs, Apéro des Entrepreneurs, le Club des Entrepreneurs, Les Premieres, Actionn’elles, plus loads of small local groups or meets ups such as Paris Entrepreneur Network meet-ups (PEN) with 13000 members!!. These are a great way to meet French people and get local contacts for support or tips (accountant, bank, insurer).
5 - What about French entrepreneurs
French entrepreneurs or freelancers are embracing the flexibility to work on what they love, while having more time for themselves or working from anywhere.
French people used to start their business as a second-career, once reaching their 40s. But this is changing with a younger generation starting in their mid 20s or 30s, with specific skills, such as AI, automation, graphic designers, 3D images, developers, community managers.
There are also many schemes in France to support people “create their own job”. You can use your training fund called Compte Formation Professionnelle (CFP) to get trained in your future skill, while still working as an employee. Another example of this that there is no tax free business type in France BUT you get to keep your unemployment benefits once you’ve started your business, sometimes up to 18 months.
If you are made redundant, you can also keep your employment benefits while creating a business! Yes, this is a shocker! You are being paid to create your business, as this is seen as a way to find a new job.
From my point of view, this might lead to a culture where French people expect others to put money into their business (bank, interest free loans). Some are reluctant to put their money in although they are expected to put at least 30% by banks), while expats tend to invest 100% in their business project. And yes it would be tricky to get support from a French bank as a brand new resident.
This may change in the months to come, as the Government has announced that they would cut down on unemployment benefits. It’s likely to impact on the length of the indemnity payments.
Which other culture difference would you add?
Voilà, these were the 5 cultural differences to expect as a new freelancer in France. Let me know which other cultural differences you have noticed for freelancers in France. I look forward to reading your feedback.
