Are you a foreign company planning to set up in France?
France attracts foreign investors, particularly foreign companies. For this type of project, you need to be properly informed, make the right choices and follow certain procedures, particularly on the legal front.
Foreign companies in France and compliance with the law
To set up a successful business in France, whether in Paris or the provinces, it’s important to find your way around the legal information, legal status and various obligations. And yet, each country has its own regulations. How can you know what your rights are in any given situation, without consulting a lawyer or legal advisor? This is mission impossible for foreigners.
For greater relevance and efficiency, make use of a legal advisor. With this type of consultation, foreign professionals operate with confidence and devote their energies to deploying the business in France.
Setting up a foreign company in France: your legal issues
Here are some of the legal issues foreign companies often encounter when setting up operations in France:
- What form of business should I choose? If you’re setting up a company, what legal status should you choose?
- What is a French branch?
- When is a liaison office enough?
- What are the basic rules of employment law for recruiting employees?
- How do you ensure compliance with labor law?
- What are the legal and administrative procedures for setting up a subsidiary in France?
- How to apply tax treaties correctly?
- When is it absolutely necessary to consult a notary or lawyer in France? Do you have a network of partners for these other legal consultations?
- Can your lawyers draw up a company’s articles of association?
- Can you help us draw up a shareholders’ agreement?
- How do French legal procedures and actions work?
Legal advice: our standard service for foreign companies in France
From setting up a business in France to ongoing legal support throughout the year, Expand CPA is with you every step of the way. Our experts in corporate law, labor law and taxation are able to provide a tailored response to every need.
Legal services to support foreign operations in France
Foreign companies find at Expand CPA complete legal advice for setting up in France:
- Training and assistance in choosing the most appropriate business form (liaison office, branch or subsidiary)
- Drafting of articles of association where necessary
- Assistance with administrative and legal formalities with public and consular bodies (various registrations with directories such as RCS, RM, Sirene, etc.)
- Advice and support in obtaining various administrative authorizations
- Legal and financial support in preparing applications for grants and subsidies
- Training in the basics of employment law, to enable you to hire employees
- Drafting of employment contracts, expatriation agreements, etc
- Advice on remuneration for managers and employers
- Legal assistance in setting up corporate governance bodies
Legal assistance for foreign companies
A legal advisor from our Expand CPA firm also provides routine legal assistance throughout the year. He sets up the mandatory registers. This legal expert ensures compliance with legal deadlines, particularly in terms of company law (meetings of the board of directors or supervisory board, preparation and holding of general meetings, etc.
One-off legal advice: assignments throughout the life of the company
Expand CPA’s legal experts also provide occasional assistance to foreign companies based in France. They provide legal advice in corporate, tax and labor law.
Corporate law: our services and occasional legal advice
Expand CPA also assists companies in the event of a transaction, merger, acquisition or disposal. We provide advice and, if necessary, referrals to lawyers in our network who are suited to each individual need.
Tax law: our legal recommendations for foreign companies
Our experts present customers with the consequences of an envisaged tax option, both for the company and its managers. They also advise foreigners on the tax treatment of individuals and foreign families living in France. Where appropriate, they include movable and immovable assets in their considerations.
Employment law and contract law: our legal advice
In the event of litigation with an employee, customer or supplier, the firm’s legal advisors first analyze the dispute. They make recommendations and suggest a course of action to resolve it, if possible through an amicable procedure. If legal action is necessary, they refer companies to specialist lawyers in their network.
Why call on Expand CPA for legal advice in France?
Our accounting firm has many assets to support foreign managers who want to set up their business in France.
Our international positioning and good knowledge of the USA help us to adapt our explanations and communication for this type of customer. We are fully aware of the difficulties encountered by entrepreneurs arriving from a foreign country.
Our legal advice is never out of touch. We exercise our professionalism within a multi-disciplinary team, expert in accounting, taxation and social management in France. This global approach to our clients’ needs enhances the relevance of our legal advice.
One of Expand CPA’s core values is to listen attentively to our clients, which helps us build tailor-made legal solutions that are truly adapted to their needs. We are committed to including a educational dimension to our assignments. Explaining French law simply and making our legal advice understandable to our foreign counterparts is what motivates us every day.
Other missions of our accounting firm for foreign companies in France
Our support package for American companies based in France can also include in addition to legal advice, the following services: