Section 1: General provisions

Articles in this section · 7

L211-1L211-2L211-3L211-4L211-5L211-5-1L211-6

Article L211-1

French Tourism CodeIn force
Ask for lawyer reviewed or certified translation

Updated 8 Nov 2023

I.-This chapter applies to natural or legal persons who, in the course of their commercial, industrial, craft or liberal profession activity, prepare and sell or offer for sale:

1° Tourist packages;

2° Travel services relating to transport, accommodation, vehicle hire or other travel services that they do not produce themselves.

It also applies to professionals who facilitate the purchase by travellers of related travel services within the meaning of Article L. 211-2.

II - Local tourist organisations receiving support from the State, local authorities or their groupings may engage in or assist, in the general interest, in the operations mentioned in I, as long as these make it easier to welcome tourists or improve their holiday conditions in the geographical area in which they operate.

III - This chapter applies to natural or legal persons who issue vouchers or gift boxes for the payment of the price of one of the services mentioned in I. It does not apply to natural or legal persons who only sell these vouchers or boxes.

IV-This chapter does not apply to persons who only offer packages, travel services or facilitate the conclusion of related travel services on an occasional basis, for non-profit-making purposes and for a limited group of travellers only.

V.-This chapter does not apply to the following persons, except with regard to the organisation, sale or offer for sale of packages or when they facilitate the purchase of related travel services:

1° Natural or legal persons who only issue land transport tickets on behalf of one or more passenger carriers;

2° Air carriers who only issue air transport tickets or consecutive transport tickets including an air transport journey and, on an ancillary basis, one or more land transport journeys provided by one or more passenger carriers;

3° Rail operators who only issue rail tickets or consecutive tickets that include a rail journey and, as an ancillary service, other land or air journeys operated by one or more passenger transport operators;

4° Natural or legal persons holding a professional licence issued in application of Act no. 70-9 of 2 January 1970 regulating the conditions governing the exercise of activities relating to certain transactions involving real estate and business assets, where they only carry out the transactions mentioned in 2° of I on an ancillary basis. In order to carry out these transactions, these persons must take out insurance to cover the financial consequences of their professional liability and a financial guarantee to enable the funds deposited to be reimbursed.

Mariela Petrova

Need help applying this article to your situation?

A registered French Lawyer explains what applies to your business — in English, fixed fee.

within 48h

Fixed Fee

Talk to a lawyer
Previous articleArticle L163-9Next articleArticle L211-2
Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

English · French · Russian

Ready When You Are

Talk To A Corporate
Lawyer In France.

A 20–30 minute call, in English, to scope the engagement. No obligation, no preliminary fee. You will leave the call with a clear view of what the work will cover and what it will cost.

Talk To A Corporate Lawyer+33 1 84 88 31 00
First EngagementFixed Fee

Talk to a French lawyer.

Reply within 24 hours.

Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

Continue Reading

Related corporate services in France

01 / Setup

Setting up a French company

Choose between SAS, SARL, SA or SCI — and structure your first French entity around how you actually plan to operate.

Read More
02 / Operating

French commercial contracts

Distribution, agency, supply, services and IP licences — drafted around the protections French law actually gives.

Read More
03 / Disputes

Business disputes & litigation

Shareholder conflicts, commercial breaches and pre-litigation strategy — handled by the same team that knows the file.

Read More