The Hardest Market · France

France's HR data

The rules and costs of employing people in France (Paris), from official sources, in English and Japanese.

90median gender equality index out of 100 (20,328 companies)

38.7%women in management (2024, ILO)

1.47×employer's total cost on €75,000 a year, as a multiple of salary

11public holidays (2026)

Employer data Take-home pay calculator Japan take-home pay

Every French company with 50 or more staff publishes a gender equality index (out of 100) each year. See the 7,000 with 251+ staff by sector, the highest scores and the Japanese-owned companies. See the employers

Employment rules

Statutory annual leave	5 weeks (30 jours ouvrables)
Public holidays (2026)	11 days
Notice of dismissal	1-2 months by law; usually 3 months for cadres
Severance required by law	1/4 month per year (1/3 after 10 years) after 8 months
Typical negotiated exit	No official benchmark; rupture conventionnelle is the norm
Probation	Cadres 4 months, renewable once (max 8)
Working hours	35 h/week; cadres usually 218-day forfait
How hard is dismissal?	Hard: real and serious cause, capped damages scale

Employer contributions

Health, maternity, disability, death	13%
State pension (capped)	8.55%	up to €48,060 a year
State pension (uncapped)	2.11%
Family allowances	5.25%
Unemployment insurance	4%	up to €192,240 a year
Wage guarantee fund AGS	0.25%	up to €192,240 a year
Supplementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO (T1)	4.72%	up to €48,060 a year
Supplementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO (T2)	12.95%	on pay above €48,060 a year, up to €384,480 a year
CEG (T1)	1.29%	up to €48,060 a year
CEG (T2)	1.62%	on pay above €48,060 a year, up to €384,480 a year
CET	0.21%	up to €384,480 a year
APEC	0.04%	up to €192,240 a year
Executive death and disability cover (compulsory)	1.5%	up to €48,060 a year
Forfait social on prévoyance	0.12%	up to €48,060 a year
Solidarity contribution for autonomy (CSA)	0.3%
Housing aid fund (FNAL)	0.5%
Social dialogue contribution	0.02%
Vocational training contribution	1%
Apprenticeship tax	0.68%
Construction effort (PEEC)	0.45%
Mobility levy, Paris (versement mobilité)	3.2%

Employee contributions

State pension (capped)	6.9%	up to €48,060 a year
State pension (uncapped)	0.4%
Supplementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO (T1)	3.15%	up to €48,060 a year
Supplementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO (T2)	8.64%	on pay above €48,060 a year, up to €384,480 a year
General balancing contribution CEG (T1)	0.86%	up to €48,060 a year
General balancing contribution CEG (T2)	1.08%	on pay above €48,060 a year, up to €384,480 a year
Technical balancing contribution CET	0.14%	up to €384,480 a year
APEC (executives' employment association)	0.02%	up to €192,240 a year
CSG (deductible part)	6.8%
CSG (non-deductible part)	2.4%
CRDS	0.5%

Take-home pay and employer cost by annual salary

Annual salary	Employee contributions	Income tax	Take-home	Employer cost	Cost ÷ salary
€55,000	€11,470	€5,280	€38,250	€80,839	1.47×
€75,000	€15,433	€9,764	€49,803	€109,955	1.47×
€100,000	€20,386	€15,369	€64,245	€146,345	1.46×
€150,000	€30,294	€29,549	€90,157	€219,131	1.46×

Executive-status employee (salarié cadre, the usual case for professional hires) on a permanent contract in Paris, French tax resident and a local national (no impatriate regime), single with no dependants (one tax part), salary only paid evenly as monthly pay (no bonus, no profit-sharing), calendar year 2026 contribution rates. Income tax uses the barème in force in 2026 (the 2026 finance law's barème for 2025 income, which also sets the 2026 withholding rates) with the standard 10% professional-expenses deduction; prélèvement à la source is only the collection method. Employer side assumes a private employer with 50 to 249 employees in Paris, outside the RGDU reduction (pay of 3 SMIC or more).

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Checked 2026-11-07; 2026 rates.