Business registrations continue at an increasing pace in France: in 2016, 554,000 entities were created, which is 6% more than in 2015.
Still leading in registration statistics since 2009, micro-entrepreneurs (formerly self-employed entrepreneurs) are no longer being created at the pace observed a year or two ago.
The complication of the status (obligation to register in the commercial register or trade directory with a corresponding tax liability, end of the exemption from the enterprise land contribution…) has undoubtedly made people without a well-thought-out entrepreneurial project think twice before registering “just in case,” since, in any case, it did not incur expenses. In 2016, there was even a decline in micro-entrepreneur registrations.
In 2016, many entrepreneurs chose the company form: registrations jumped by 10% in one year. Simplified joint-stock companies (SAS) accounted for 56% of creations in 2016, after 48% in 2015, 39% in 2014, and 30% in 2013. Single-member limited liability companies (SARL) accounted for 16% of registrations, with other types of SARL taking the remaining 24%.
The transport and warehousing sector recorded a 56% increase in business creations compared to 2015.
Specialized, scientific, and technical activities accounted for a quarter of creations in 2016. Again, a positive trend can be observed: 90,600 companies were created in this field in 2016, compared to 82,800 in 2015, an increase of 10%. These are mostly consulting activities for business.
One in five business creations concerns commerce: 97,100 new establishments were established in this sector. However, this figure is down 9.3% compared to 2015.
