Franchising is booming in France. With one of the largest and most developed markets in Europe, franchising plays a vital role in French business culture for large, medium and small-sized companies. France has a long history of franchises, kicking off in the 1960s with the development of hypermarkets and the shopping malls that typically surrounded them.
A French Franchise Code of Professional Ethics was established already in 1972 and later laid the foundations for the European Franchise Code of Ethics which operates in most EU countries today and serves particularly as a reference for jurisprudence.
As of 1990, the Loi Doubin was implemented to safeguard the interests of franchisees by insisting on transparency from the franchisor. This helped boost the market further as it set clearer definitions. At the end of 2004, France boasted some 765 domestic franchised networks. When non-French franchisers are included, the figures rise to 835 franchises. Franchises represent nearly 7% of French trade.
The table below highlights France’s key position in Europe: leader in terms of number of franchisers and employment. Figures for all of Europe are sometimes difficult to compare but according to the European Federation of Franchising, there were some 5,637 distinct franchise brands operating across 20 European countries.
Country
Franchisors
Outlets
Turnover(Bn€)
Employ-ment
United States
1,500
760,000
1,500
9,700,000
France
765
34,745
42
400,000
Great Britain
695
33,800
119
380,000
Germany
760
41,000
29
362,000
Spain
650
33,032
12
186,000
Nether-lands
475
18,500
15
18,000
Address: IBT Partners - 17 rue du Colisée - 75008 Paris - France
Franchising is booming in France. With one of the largest and most developed markets in Europe, franchising plays a vital role in French business culture for large, medium and small-sized companies. France has a long history of franchises, kicking off in the 1960s with the development of hypermarkets and the shopping malls that typically surrounded them.