France Company Launch · French business lawyer in Lyon
Launch your company in France with one legal point of contact
Legal advice, incorporation and local coordination for foreign companies.
Our services
1
Entry Review
€490 excluding taxes
The mandatory first step: preliminary review, a 60-to-90-minute meeting in English, comparison of a subsidiary, branch or liaison office, governance, banking, registered-office, tax and immigration dependencies, and a written decision memorandum with a provisional sequence of steps and third-party costs.
2
Legal Launch
From €2,400 excluding taxes
Legal constitution and corporate filing of a standard French company: articles of association, first resolutions, appointment of the first director or president, beneficial ownership information, legal publication, incorporation formalities and a closing file.
3
Coordinated Launch 90
From €4,500 excluding taxes
Legal Launch plus 90 days of coordination: launch meeting, coordination of up to four local providers, shared task list, two coordination meetings, one standard intragroup or commercial agreement within agreed limits, a first-year compliance calendar and follow-up meetings at 30 and 90 days.
4
French Corporate Care
From €1,200 excluding taxes per year
Recurring corporate support after registration: annual corporate calendar, standard approval of accounts and allocation of profits, electronic filing of the accounts, one annual legal review meeting and short follow-up questions.
If a Legal Launch or Coordinated Launch 90 engagement is signed within 30 days, €250 of the Entry Review fee is credited against the launch fee. The Entry Review does not constitute a French tax, accounting, employment or immigration opinion.
The launch process
1
Qualification
General information about the foreign company, the French activity, ownership and timetable.
2
Conflict check & KYC
Client and beneficial-owner identification before any substantive advice.
3
Entry Review
English-language meeting and written decision memorandum.
4
Engagement
Scope, exclusions, fees and third-party costs in a written engagement letter.
5
Documents & drafting
Documents collected through a secure channel; corporate documents prepared for approval.
6
Capital, signatures & filing
Registered office and capital deposit by the client, then filing of the formalities.
7
First 90 days
Closing file, first-year calendar and follow-up of the matters handled by local providers.
What is not included
Unless a separate written engagement is signed, the service does not include French or international tax advice, transfer pricing, accounting, payroll, provision of a registered office, certified translations, immigration or visa applications, employment law advice, regulated-activity authorisations, intellectual-property filings, commercial leases, recruitment, financing or public grants. Third-party fees, filing taxes, publication costs and translations are invoiced separately or identified as estimated third-party costs.
No guaranteed outcome for third-party procedures
The firm does not guarantee the opening of a French bank account, acceptance by a registered-office provider, the granting of a visa, residence permit or administrative authorisation, a particular tax treatment, access to financing, or registration within a guaranteed period. The timetable depends on the client’s responsiveness, the completeness of the documents and the processing times of banks, providers and public authorities.
Your French legal point of contact
Timo RAINIO is a French lawyer (avocat), member of the Lyon Bar. He holds postgraduate degrees in French business law and taxation and in private law and has advised companies, entrepreneurs and business owners on corporate, commercial, contractual and digital matters for more than fifteen years.
Foreign companies often deal simultaneously with a lawyer, accountant, tax adviser, registered-office provider, bank and translator. Timo RAINIO acts as the client’s French legal point of contact throughout the launch: he explains the options in clear English, identifies the decisions to make before incorporation, prepares the French corporate documents, refers specialised questions to the appropriate professional and monitors outstanding documents and formalities. Each professional keeps a separate engagement and remains responsible for their own advice.
Meetings and day-to-day communications can be conducted in English. Corporate documents are prepared in French when required by French law; English working translations can be provided for internal understanding.
Frequently asked questions
Can you guarantee that a French bank account will be opened?
No. Banks conduct their own compliance and commercial reviews. The firm helps prepare the legal documents and coordinate the process but cannot guarantee acceptance.
Can a person living abroad manage a French company?
This depends on the individual’s nationality, residence, immigration status and position. The corporate-law aspects are reviewed by the firm; immigration questions are referred to an appropriate specialist.
Do you provide a registered office?
No. The firm can introduce a licensed registered-office provider but does not provide domiciliation services itself.
Which documents should a foreign parent company prepare?
Commonly: a recent company-registry extract, constitutional documents, an ownership chart identifying the ultimate beneficial owners, a corporate resolution approving the French project, evidence of signatories’ authority, identity and address documents, information on the source of funds, and translations or apostilles where required. The precise list is confirmed after qualification.
Start with an Entry Review
Send a short description of the foreign company, the proposed French activity, the intended ownership and your target date. Please do not send passports or identity documents at this stage. Contacting the firm does not create a lawyer-client relationship before the conflict check and client identification.
Timo RAINIO — French lawyer (avocat), Lyon Bar · 10 rue de la Charité, 69002 Lyon, France · +33 6 65 31 40 88