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market stall in France


Idealdeux
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Rules are very basic for market trading in France (yet again it depends what you intend to sale. If your french is up to it, visit your local market (early in the morning) and speak to "Le Placier" ie. the person who decides where your stand will be for the day and is also the person who collect the fees per meterage of stand.
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If you haven't already read it Rose en Marche by Jamie Ivey is a fascinating account of one young couples year trying to establish a business selling rose wine in the south of france. It gives a really good insight into the workings of french markets. His other books are good too.
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That's interesting - I read his first book, in which he first tried to find the palest rosé in France - I was not particularly taken either by his style of writing, or his activities, but each to his own, I suppose.  I do know that he left his work in the UK (a lawyer I think) to try and make a living in France - if he was reduced to selling on market stalls, that maybe tells me quite a lot about him......

PS at the time of writing his first book he spoke very little French (his wife did though) and I thought him (actually) rather stupid ......

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Hello Sue

My family have a market stall in France.  You need to go to your nearest Chambres de Commerce (CdeC) to get a licence, which is not expensive but does involve a great deal of paperwork and time.  It is not a quick process.  The placier at the market cannot give you a space without the licence.

By the way, the licence used to be issued by the Prefecture but this changed in late spring to the CdeC.  The CdeC ask for all the usual stuff (proof of address, passport, autoentrepreneur status etc etc etc) but you also need a passport photo.  They will not register the application without every single piece of paper being in your hands at the time.  They do, however, complete the form for you on the computer.  And then send it off - which is the long, long wait.

It is difficult to get a space in the successful markets - there will be a waiting list.  For our local market, we needed to register with the placier (who works for the Mairie) last autumn in order to get a space this summer.

A word of warning - people have many ideas about what will sell at markets but the reality is that most people fail.  So it is a good idea to look for second hand table stands (les lits de camp), canopy (parapluie) and rain shield (entourage) on www.leboncoin.fr 

This equipment new will set you back about 500 euros at least, which you are unlikely to recover in one season.  www.parasol-forain.fr is a Bordeaux company selling new equipment.  They are very helpful if you call there but you do need a good knowledge of French.

Wherabouts are you. Sue?  What sort of products are you thinking about?  Send me a Private Message, if you wish.

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Apart from the specifics of market trading remember that you need to register a business to stay legal in France. Autoentrepreneur (AE) will almost certainly be the simplest option, but remember that working in France immediately invalidates any E106/E121 (Or S-whatever) you may have.

Read this for info on AE:

http://www.pbss-uk.com/AEGuide_March2009_EN.pdf

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