France PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Companies
Approximately 3,618,351 real businesses classified under Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities in France, with officer, shareholder and beneficial ownership records sourced directly from official government registries.
Approximately 3,618,351 real businesses operate in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector across France. Consultants, lawyers, architects, and researchers make up a sector regulated twice over — once by company law, once by their own professional body. Legal, accounting, tax, management consulting, engineering, advertising, and R&D firms are frequently structured as partnerships or professional corporations, which layers licensing-body oversight on top of standard company registration rather than replacing it.
104 companies in this sector are indexed on Zavia so far, part of a continually growing dataset.
Beneficial-ownership and registration rules for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies in France follow the same national framework as every other sector there.
Full France beneficial ownership overviewTop Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities Companies in France
Live from the register. Every row opens the full record — officers, shareholders and resolved group structure.
Data Coverage
Record counts for SIC Code M in France, as of the last reconciliation.
Section M is 11% of the France register by entity count and its 3rd largest sector — see all sectors.
Analysis
What this data actually tells you
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities covers some of France’s most tightly regulated individual professions — architects, avocats, experts-comptables, notaires and others — where the entity’s company registration is only half the picture. Practising legally requires separate, mandatory registration with the relevant professional ordre, which vets qualifications, requires professional-indemnity insurance, and can suspend or strike off a member independently of what happens to the company itself.
That two-layer structure is the main thing to check in this sector: a firm can be validly incorporated and still have no practitioner currently authorised to sign off regulated work, if its named professional has lapsed their ordre registration. Conversely, ordre membership is a reasonable proxy for standing in exactly the professions where public company filings — often minimal for a small partnership or a liberal-profession structure — say the least.
France Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, by the register
Charts render from live counts. Modules are suppressed where coverage is too thin to be meaningful.
Entities by sub-sector
SIC division level, live from official registries.
Active vs. inactive
Section M entities currently on the register as active, vs. struck off or dormant.
Company size, by disclosed headcount
By number of employees on file, Section M, France. 29,670 entities with no disclosed headcount are not counted in any band.
Who uses France professional, scientific and technical activities ownership data
The three checks this sector's data is most often run for.
Regulated-profession registration check
Architects, lawyers, chartered accountants and several other professions in this sector must be registered with their professional ordre to legally practise — a separate membership register from company incorporation, and the one that actually confirms someone is authorised to sign off on the work.
Professional-liability and standing verification
Ordre registration in France typically requires proof of professional indemnity insurance and good standing; a firm can be a legitimately incorporated company and still have a practitioner who has been struck off or suspended by their order.
Fee-based, low-asset exposure
Professional and technical service firms typically carry little in the way of fixed assets, so lenders and counterparties assessing this sector look mainly at partner composition, client concentration and ordre standing rather than a conventional balance sheet.
Sub-sectors within Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities
SIC divisions inside this section, each with its own France company directory.
Legal and accounting activities
546,225 companies
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
1.8M+ companies
Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis
488,261 companies
Scientific research and development
45,231 companies
Advertising and market research
155,231 companies
Other professional, scientific and technical activities
561,797 companies
Veterinary activities
45,777 companies
Get complete shareholder and officer records, ultimate beneficial owner resolution, and ongoing ownership monitoring for France companies — via API or a bulk data feed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies are registered in France?
Approximately 3,618,351 real businesses operate under Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities in France.
What does the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector include in France?
Consultants, lawyers, architects, and researchers make up a sector regulated twice over — once by company law, once by their own professional body. Legal, accounting, tax, management consulting, engineering, advertising, and R&D firms are frequently structured as partnerships or professional corporations, which layers licensing-body oversight on top of standard company registration rather than replacing it.
How is company ownership disclosed for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies in France?
The same national framework applies here as for every other sector in France — there is no sector-specific beneficial-ownership regime for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities.
Can I see all industries present in France?
Yes — the France company directory lists every industry with recorded companies for that jurisdiction, alongside the full beneficial-ownership overview for France.
Can I see Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies in other countries?
Yes — the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector directory lists every country with recorded Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies on Zavia.
Can Zavia monitor changes to Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies in France over time?
A directory listing is a snapshot, not a live feed. Zavia's monitoring API tracks changes to registered shareholders, officers, and group structure for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities companies in France going forward, flagging updates as they are filed instead of requiring a manual recheck.
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