Opening an office in Paris as a foreign company

Is your company moving to Paris, or opening a subsidiary there? The market for office space in Paris is the largest in Europe, but it follows rules that often surprise foreign CEOs and managing directors: a nine-year commercial lease, heavy guarantees, and the need for an address before the company can be registered. The good news is that there is an alternative designed for companies arriving in France: offices rented under a service agreement (managed offices and serviced offices), ready to move into and with no long-term commitment. This guide covers what you need to know to choose the right option, the right neighbourhood and the right budget, with real prices from our listings in October 2026.

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Three ways to rent an office in Paris

In Paris, a company can rent offices in three ways. The choice depends mainly on your time horizon. A first base whose headcount is bound to change has different needs from a headquarters planned for ten years.

For a company new to the French market, the first two options, both rented under a service agreement, are almost always the best fit. They are signed quickly, need no fit-out, and leave you free to grow or pull out. The legal differences are set out in our commercial lease vs service agreement comparison.

The 3-6-9 commercial lease: what it means for a foreign company

The commercial lease (bail commercial) is the standard way to rent offices in France. It runs for nine years; the tenant can leave at the end of each three-year period, with six months' notice. The rent is reviewed every year in line with an official index (for offices, the ILAT, the French index of rents for office and service activities).

For a foreign company, three points often weigh more than expected:

• Guarantees. With no French accounts to show, the landlord often asks for a large security deposit, a first-demand bank guarantee (garantie à première demande) or a parent company guarantee, sometimes all three.
• Fit-out and furniture. Space is usually let unfitted: fit-out, cabling and furniture are at your expense, and the premises must be returned to their original condition when you leave.
• Lead time. Between the search, negotiation, signing and fit-out, allow several months before you can move in.

There is also a short-term lease (known as a bail dérogatoire), capped at three years in total. It is useful for testing a market without committing for nine years, but not all landlords accept it.

Why a service agreement is ideal for setting up in Paris

In a managed office, an operator leases the building or floor, fits it out and furnishes it, then makes it available to you, fully private, for an all-inclusive monthly price: rent, service charges, cleaning, internet, maintenance. In a business centre or coworking space, you rent an enclosed private office and share the reception, meeting rooms and common areas.

In both cases, the contract is a service agreement, not a commercial lease. The security deposit is often one to three months' rent, the commitment runs from one month to three years, and you can move in within a few days or weeks. For a foreign company, these options have four advantages:

• Agility. When you set up in a new country, you do not yet have a clear long-term view of your French business: how many hires, at what pace, with what revenue. A commitment of a few months to three years lets you expand the space if the team grows, or scale it down if plans change, without being tied in for nine years.
• Ready to move in. The offices are furnished, wired and maintained. The team arrives and gets to work on day one, with no fit-out project or suppliers to coordinate from abroad.
• A simple budget. A single monthly price covers rent, service charges, cleaning, internet and reception, with no upfront investment.
• Fewer guarantees. The deposit stays limited, whereas a commercial lease often requires heavy guarantees from a company with no track record in France.

It is the option foreign companies use most in their first years in Paris, while they recruit, get to know the market and work out how much space the team will need. To find out more, read our guide to managed offices in Paris.

Registering your company: you need an address

To register a subsidiary (SAS, SARL, etc.) or a branch (succursale) with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS), you must provide proof of an address in France. Several documents are accepted:

• A commercial lease or a service agreement for offices, if the document allows you to establish your registered office or place of business there. With a managed office or business centre, a registered business address (domiciliation) for the company is often one of the options: sometimes included, sometimes at extra cost.
• A domiciliation contract with a registered address provider approved by the préfecture (the local state authority). It provides an address and receives your mail, with no office to occupy. Many business centres offer this service.

A company that only wants to represent its parent company, with no commercial activity in France, can also open a liaison office (bureau de liaison). Legal and tax rules vary depending on your home country and your project: have the structure checked by a lawyer or chartered accountant (expert-comptable) before signing.

What budget do you need for an office in Paris?

Flexible office space is priced per desk per month. Here is what the priced listings in our Paris catalogue show, by team size:

Prices excl. VAT, per desk per month, services included. Typical range: half of listings fall within it. Source: Desk to Desk catalogue, around 1,900 priced listings in Paris, October 2026. Managed offices generally cost less per desk (around €500 to €650) than private offices in coworking spaces (around €720 to €790).

VAT at 20% is added to these prices; a VAT-registered company can recover it. The neighbourhood accounts for the rest of the gap: a desk costs around €850 in the 8th or the 2nd, and €500 to €600 in the 10th, 15th or 18th. Prices for each arrondissement are kept up to date on our search pages, and our price-per-desk tracker explains how to read them.

Which neighbourhood for your business?

Paris is a compact city, but each neighbourhood has its own clientele. A few pointers, which you can refine depending on where your teams live and where your clients are based:

• Finance, consulting, family offices: the Paris Central Business District (CBD), in the 8th arrondissement (Madeleine, Saint-Lazare, Champs-Élysées), and the west of the 16th and 17th.
• Tech and start-ups: the Sentier, in the 2nd, the 9th (Opéra, SoPi) and eastern Paris (10th, 11th).
• Luxury, fashion, design: the Triangle d'Or (8th), the 1st and the Haut Marais (3rd).
• Teams that travel across Europe: the 10th, around Gare du Nord (Eurostar to London, trains to Brussels and Amsterdam), and the 12th, around Gare de Lyon.
• Large teams: La Défense, the 15th and Paris Rive Gauche (13th), for larger office floors at lower prices.

Our article Where to set up your offices in Paris covers these neighbourhoods in detail.

A typical timeline for setting up

1. The brief: headcount today and in a year, budget, possible neighbourhoods, arrival date.
2. The shortlist: a few spaces that match your brief, including off-market listings.
3. Viewings: scheduled over one or two days, which helps when the leadership team is travelling from abroad.
4. Negotiation and contract: price, term, notice period, exit and expansion terms.
5. Moving in: a few days to a few weeks for a managed office or business centre.

With a flexible office, the whole process can take just a few weeks. With a commercial lease, allow several months.

Frequently asked questions

How Desk to Desk helps you

Searching for offices from abroad often means contacting ten operators, comparing different contracts and organising viewings remotely. Desk to Desk is your central point of contact: one English-speaking adviser, from exploring your options to signing.

• The whole market in one place: we know the operators and landlords, and we have access to listings that are not published online.
• A tailored shortlist based on your headcount, budget and preferred neighbourhoods.
• Organised viewings for your trip to Paris, scheduled over one or two days.
• We handle communication with operators and negotiate price, term and exit terms on your behalf.
• A free service in the vast majority of cases: we are paid by the operator.

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