General Information

Recommendations for success in business in France:

• First official contact, preferably by email,
• Business lunches, where intellectual and amicable exchanges open up relationships,
• Adhere to the schedule and agenda,
• Provide written confirmation of conversations and agreements,
• Negotiations to be held in French if not in English,
• The submission of the documentation in French is appreciated. 

Means of Payment & Banking Specificities

Payment deadlines have generally been respected in France since the coming into force of the LME Law No. 2008-776 of 4 August 2008 which stipulates that “the deadline, agreed between the parties for the payment of the sums due, may not exceed 45 days from the end of the month or 60 days from the date of issue of the invoice”. Certain sectors, such as road transport, are, however, governed by older laws (30 days from the date of issue of the invoice).

Article 3(1) of Directive 2011/7/EU of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions between private undertakings stipulates: ‘Member States shall ensure that the payment period laid down in the contract does not exceed sixty calendar days, unless expressly provided otherwise in the contract and provided that this does not constitute a manifest abuse of the creditor within the meaning of Article 7 (Contractual terms and unfair practices)’.

It should be noted that the transposition into French law has still not retained this provision authorising the 60-day time limit to be exceeded, unlike in several other EU member states, as Law 2013-100 of 28 January 2013, in Title IV, only concerns late payment in contracts with the public sector.

The use of cheques on the domestic market remains common despite a net drop. France remains the largest user of cheques among the European countries (70% of cheques issued in the European Union in 2018, far ahead of the United Kingdom, which is in second place at 17.3%, according to the Banque de France); commercial bills are also used. For international transactions, the cheques,the promissory note and the bill of exchange are to be avoided, it is recommended to use bank transferts, preferably Swift or documentary credit depending on the amount. It should be noted that the use of the stand-by letter of credit in gradually tending to grow.