Entering the French market as a foreign manufacturer or brand usually comes down to two separate decisions that get conflated far too often: how you get your product legally onto the market, and how you get it in front of customers.
Step one: CE marking is not optional
If your product falls under an EU directive that requires it, and most physical consumer and industrial products do, CE marking is mandatory before it can be sold anywhere in the EU, France included. It certifies that your product meets EU health, safety, and environmental requirements. Critically, the compliance responsibility depends on your role:
- Manufacturer (including non-EU manufacturers): responsible for the full CE marking process, either directly or through an authorised representative based in the EU.
- Importer (the party bringing the product in from outside the EU): responsible for verifying the product complies before it is placed on the market. You cannot simply rely on the manufacturer's claim.
- Distributor: buys and resells product already legally on the EU market, with lighter but still real obligations.
Any CE-marked product sold into France also needs an EU-established economic operator listed on the product or packaging, meaning a non-EU manufacturer needs either a representative, an importer, or a fulfilment partner based in the EU before a single unit can legally ship.
Step two: distributor, agent, or your own entity?
Once compliance is sorted, the commercial question is how you actually go to market:
- Working with a French distributor is the fastest route to shelf presence or B2B sales, with lower upfront commitment, but you trade away pricing control and direct customer relationships.
- A commercial agent sits in between, representing you without buying stock outright, and can be a good fit for B2B and industrial products.
- Setting up your own French entity (see our guide on registering a company in France) gives full control and is usually the right call once volume justifies the overhead of a local structure, VAT registration, and compliance obligations.
At the border: a customs number and import VAT
Before any customs operation in an EU country, a company needs an EORI number. In France it is requested from French customs through the online service SOPRANO EORI on douane.gouv.fr, and it is free. A company based outside the EU registers in France only if it does not already hold an EORI number from another member state.
Import VAT is no longer paid at the border. Since 1 January 2022 it is declared and paid on the VAT return, and this is automatic. To import, a company must therefore hold a valid French VAT number, wherever it is based, and must ask the tax office for one before the first shipment. A company outside the EU that owes VAT in France must in principle appoint a tax representative established in France. Companies from countries that have a mutual assistance agreement with France are exempt from this.
French on the label, the manual and the warranty
The law of 4 August 1994 makes French mandatory in the name, offer and presentation of a product, in its instructions for use, in the description of its warranty, and on invoices and receipts. The same rule covers advertising. Plan the translation of packaging and manuals early, because it is checked like any other compliance point.
Consumers also have rights that no contract can remove. The legal guarantee of conformity lasts 2 years from delivery. It is owed by the professional seller to a non-professional buyer. When the sale is made online or at a distance, the consumer has 14 calendar days to withdraw.
Waste rules and payment terms
France applies extended producer responsibility (REP) to many product families, including packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, furniture, textiles and toys. The company that imports these products must join an approved body (éco-organisme), obtain a unique identifier, and show it in its terms of sale and on its website. Agree in writing with your distributor on who does this.
Between businesses, payment terms are capped by law. Without an agreement, payment is due 30 days after the goods are received. The parties can agree on up to 60 days from the invoice date, or 45 days end of month if the contract says so. An invoice paid late gives the seller a right to a fixed recovery fee of 40 euros, on top of late payment interest.
The mistake we see most often
Foreign companies frequently sign a distributor agreement before confirming CE marking and import compliance are actually in place, then discover the distributor cannot legally take delivery of the goods. Sequencing compliance before commercial commitments is not bureaucratic caution; it is the difference between a smooth launch and a shipment stuck at customs.