New firm incorporation record in 2018 in France

Firm incorporation and entrepreneurship in France are two trends that are not fading at all. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Indeed, according to the INSEE, the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, 691,283 companies were created in France in 2018. The previous record was established in 2010 with 622,000 start-ups. This was mainly due to the introduction of the auto-entrepreneur status in 2009 (which became the micro-entrepreneur status in 2014). Never before has the number of start-ups (excluding micro-enterprises) in France been so high since 1987, ie since INSEE started to measure the number of firm incorporations.

This record number of firm incorporation in 2018 is primarily attributable to micro-enterprises (+ 28%) and sole proprietorship businesses (+ 20%). This upward trend has affected all business sectors and regions. However, Paris stands out by contributing more than a third of creations, particularly in the sector of consulting services.

The creators of sole proprietorship companies were on average 36 years old in 2018. In addition to that, four out of ten business creators were women. This proportion has been stable since 2015, whereas it has been increasing steadily for 30 years (29% in 1987 and 33% in 2000).

Consequently, call PHAN Experts if you need assistance in incorporating a French subsidiary. We will be glad to help you to set up your business in France, through our 4-step approach.