# sell food while travelling in France



## Rania.Wow

hi..
we are a couple.. who would like to travel around France.. but would like to make money through selling homemade food in different areas we stop by.. it would be something interactive.. where I would stop to cook and people can buy a good tasty meal.. chill.. talk.. and have some fun socializing..
what is the possibility of doing that? 
would I be stopped for such a thing?
what kind of licensing would I need?


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## Bevdeforges

It would still require a business entity and registration for taxes, cotisations and whatever registrations are required for selling food. If you aren't French, you'd need a residence permit that allows you to work in France. How's your French? Or are you targeting the tourist market? What kind of food would you be selling? (I.e. local cuisine or some other "foreign" cuisine?)


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## EuroTrash

It's a great idea but hard to see it working in France. Street traders and market traders have their paperwork checked very regularly.
Are you an EU citizen? I have a hazy recollection at the back of my mind that there is some arrangement for travelling traders (commerçants ambulants - travelling traders doesn't sound right but I can't think what else we call them in English) where if you live in another EU country and are registered there, you can come to France temporarily and simply use your registration in your home country to register here. I think there is a mechanism for paying taxes too, you make a one-off payment upfront when you register or something. Might be worth a look but I'm pretty sure you would need some kind of address in France, and there is still the issue of food safety, food hygiene certification etc. I suspect it would be all too complicated. Shame.


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## BackinFrance

You can't just turn up and start cooking and serving meals wherever you please. The local mairies are responsable for giving approval in respect of who, where and when. If you want to do it on private property, then the owner may need approval and you definitely need the owner's approval.

If there is a festival being held, you need approval from the organizers.


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## Rania.Wow

Bevdeforges said:


> It would still require a business entity and registration for taxes, cotisations and whatever registrations are required for selling food. If you aren't French, you'd need a residence permit that allows you to work in France. How's your French? Or are you targeting the tourist market? What kind of food would you be selling? (I.e. local cuisine or some other "foreign" cuisine?)


 We are french residents and may work in France.. my husband speaks perfectly.. I manage very well too.. I might be targeting campers.. eco villages.. markets.. but as I travel from one city to the other.. I cook home cooked dishes that I created.. I imagine me going into the city.. and checking out what they have in the market.. and just cook that.. do you think it is possible?


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## Rania.Wow

EuroTrash said:


> It's a great idea but hard to see it working in France. Street traders and market traders have their paperwork checked very regularly.
> Are you an EU citizen? I have a hazy recollection at the back of my mind that there is some arrangement for travelling traders (commerçants ambulants - travelling traders doesn't sound right but I can't think what else we call them in English) where if you live in another EU country and are registered there, you can come to France temporarily and simply use your registration in your home country to register here. I think there is a mechanism for paying taxes too, you make a one-off payment upfront when you register or something. Might be worth a look but I'm pretty sure you would need some kind of address in France, and there is still the issue of food safety, food hygiene certification etc. I suspect it would be all too complicated. Shame.


I am not a EU citizen.. 
we do have an address in France.. we have been living here on a resident permit for the past 5 years..


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## Rania.Wow

BackinFrance said:


> You can't just turn up and start cooking and serving meals wherever you please. The local mairies are responsable for giving approval in respect of who, where and when. If you want to do it on private property, then the owner may need approval and you definitely need the owner's approval.
> 
> If there is a festival being held, you need approval from the organizers.


easy.. thanks..


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## BackinFrance

The food preparation licence is essential.


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## Bevdeforges

Rania.Wow said:


> I imagine me going into the city.. and checking out what they have in the market.. and just cook that.. do you think it is possible?


Admittedly I don't know all the details, but from my experience running a French company (an SARL) I think you're going to find there are a whole lot more registrations and regulations than you imagine. You could start by contacting the local CCI for their assistance and advice in setting up a personal business. They'd know better whether what you're considering is possible and, if so, what would be involved.


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## Clic Clac

* Is it just me, or did the Poll originally say "antique dish" ?

I'm maybe just having a bad day. 🤗

Anyway, after the motorway sandwich I had on Friday I'm strictly eating 'in house' at the moment.

There's still chicken roti across parts of the A26 southbound.


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## BackinFrance

Clic Clac said:


> * Is it just me, or did the Poll originally say "antique dish" ?
> 
> I'm maybe just having a bad day. 🤗
> 
> Anyway, after the motorway sandwich I had on Friday I'm strictly eating 'in house' at the moment.
> 
> There's still chicken roti across parts of the A26 southbound.


It said unique, perhaps that means uniquely dubious. 

TBH I am very wary of cooked food offered at stalls, though I have eaten chichis and potatoes at Estanque and chichis at la fontaine de Vaucluse even though far too greasy


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## BackinFrance

There are supposed to be health checks for food preparation. I would be interested to know how they could be done for the proposed project.


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## EuroTrash

I got tempted to a raw herring in Amsterdam, lots of people were eating them and they looked delish.
I was ill for a week.

I agree that the logistics are going to be the problem, both finding a location to sell from and finding an approved facility to do the cooking.
I know this thread isn't exactly about food trucks but some of the issues apply wherever food is cooked and sold; here is a description of a food truck copping for a random inspection La Défense : la répression des fraudes passe les food trucks à la loupe


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## BackinFrance

EuroTrash said:


> I got tempted to a raw herring in Amsterdam, lots of people were eating them and they looked delish.
> I was ill for a week.
> 
> I agree that the logistics are going to be the problem, both finding a location to sell from and finding an approved facility to do the cooking.
> I know this thread isn't exactly about food trucks but some of the issues apply wherever food is cooked and sold; here is a description of a food truck copping for a random inspection La Défense : la répression des fraudes passe les food trucks à la loupe


Can you imagine the issues that would arise if there were an outbreak of food poisoning (unfortunately not unusual) somewhere the OP had been serving food and they had moved o to some unknown destination or were somewhere on the road looking for a new place to set up?


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## Poloss

BackinFrance said:


> There are supposed to be health checks for food preparation. I would be interested to know how they could be done for the proposed project.


It's called a HACCP qualification.
If you're using a food truck or caravan style salespoint it needs a official approval too.

That said, there are plenty of people who propose cooked food on street markets, concerts, flea markets
without any paperwork _ the thing is to propose a suggested price (prix libre) to cover costs and not really sell the food.

Unless you're disregarding elementary hygiene rules, providing alcohol or causing hassles for other legal vendors, the inspectors shouldn't be alerted - anyhow they're very few and far between.


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## BackinFrance

Diesel make it right and certainly doesn't reduce the health risks.


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## EuroTrash

I don't "get" that.
If a seller takes money from a buyer in exchange for goods, how is that "not really selling"?
Genuine question.


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## Bevdeforges

When you say "food stalls" there is a presumption that some organization, association or perhaps the town government has set up an event for which they rent out or assign the "stalls." These things are arranged months, if not a year or more in advance. And most events will require some sort of plan, certification or business entity to grant or rent a food stall to a vendor or group.

Talk to the CCI and find out what the regulations are for the type of business you are looking to set up.


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## Poloss

EuroTrash said:


> I don't "get" that.
> If a seller takes money from a buyer in exchange for goods, how is that "not really selling"?
> Genuine question.


I don't really understand the presumed loophole but all I know is that it's widely used and tolerated.
My daughter explained it to me a while ago for her pancake stand on the market and I've met others functioning the same way.
There's a notion of voluntary donation to an association perhaps?


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## EuroTrash

Poloss said:


> I don't really understand the presumed loophole but all I know is that it's widely used and tolerated.
> My daughter explained it to me a while ago for her pancake stand on the market and I've met others functioning the same way.
> There's a notion of voluntary donation to an association perhaps?


If the money actually is being collected for charity or for an association then fair enough but you can't just pretend it is if it isn't, the collecting of donations by charities is tightly controlled to prevent abuse. There must be more to it than that.


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## Bevdeforges

I know that when the town runs a brocante, they have to register the event in order to get a sort of blanket exemption from the "vendors" having to charge (and report) VAT on their sales. I suspect there may be a similar sort of thing for folks doing casual selling at the local marché (often also organized by the local mairie).


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