Equipment Leasing in France: Crédit-Bail, Location Financière, ACPR Regulation & Tax in 2026
France is one of Europe's largest leasing markets, and nine in every ten euros of business equipment finance is a lease. This guide sets out the latest ASF market data, how crédit-bail and location financière work, who is allowed to offer them, and what the 2026 e-invoicing reform means for lessors and vendors.
- Established 1992 — 34 years in leasing
- 40+ funder relationships in 30+ countries
- €100,000 to €10 million per transaction
- Founding member, Guild of Business Finance Professionals
Leasing is how French businesses finance equipment
France has one of Europe's most established equipment leasing markets, backed by a dedicated legal framework since 1966. Across manufacturing, engineering, airports, retail, healthcare, research and technology, French companies use leasing to acquire assets while preserving cash flow and bank lines.
A difficult 2025, a steadier 2026
The Association française des Sociétés Financières (ASF) describes 2025 as a year of contraction: production fell in every quarter and in every financed sector — commercial vehicles, cars, IT and industrial machinery — with only a milder decline in Q4.
The first quarter of 2026 brought a modest turnaround. Total equipment financing edged up 0.7%, driven by long-term rental (+9.2%), location financière (+3.5%) and classic equipment loans (+24.5%), while leases with a purchase option were still down 6.9%. Leasing's share held at around 89%.
For vendors, that is the opportunity: when French buyers hesitate to commit capital, a well-structured rental or lease offered at the point of sale keeps projects moving.
Why French businesses lease
- Cash flow: spread the cost over the asset's working life instead of paying upfront.
- Bank capacity: keep overdrafts and loan facilities free for working capital.
- Accounting: under the French Plan Comptable Général (PCG), crédit-bail and rentals are not capitalised in the lessee's individual accounts.
- Technology refresh: location financière and LLD make it simple to renew IT, medical and office equipment on a cycle.
- Predictability: fixed rentals support budgeting and investment approval.
| ASF equipment financing for businesses | 2025 | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total equipment financing | €40.0bn | −5.8% |
| Classic equipment loans | €4.4bn | −3.3% |
| Leasing (financement locatif) | €35.6bn | −6.1% |
| Leases with a purchase option | €22.1bn | −6.9% |
| of which crédit-bail mobilier (law of 1966) | €17.9bn | −5.4% |
| Leases without a purchase option | €13.5bn | −4.6% |
| of which location financière | €5.7bn | −7.2% |
| of which long-term rental (LLD) | €7.8bn | −2.7% |
Source: ASF, Tableau de bord 2025 (March 2026) and ASF Q1 2026 figures. ASF figures cover its member specialist financiers and exclude vehicles leased to consumers.
Crédit-bail, location financière and LLD
French leasing divides on one question: does the contract give the customer an option to buy? That single feature decides whether it is a regulated credit operation, how it is published and how it is taxed.
Finance lease
Crédit-bail mobilier · Location avec option d'achat- Lessor buys the equipment chosen by the customer and owns it throughout the term
- Fixed, usually non-cancellable term; customer carries operating risk and maintenance
- At the end: buy at the pre-agreed residual price, renew, or return
- A regulated credit operation — reserved to ACPR-authorised lenders
- Typical for machinery, production lines, vehicles and long-life assets
Financial rental
Location financière- Rental with no purchase option; the asset is returned or the rental extended
- Usually a three-party structure: supplier, lessor and customer
- Not a credit operation — no ACPR authorisation needed
- The backbone of vendor programmes for IT, office, telecoms and security equipment
Operating & long-term rental
Location opérationnelle · Location longue durée (LLD)- Lessor keeps legal and economic ownership and the residual value risk
- Often bundled with maintenance, insurance or replacement services
- Widely used for vehicle fleets, IT and technology refresh
- LLD was the fastest-growing segment in Q1 2026 (+9.2%)
Who can offer leasing in France?
France regulates leasing by product. Crédit-bail is treated as credit and is reserved to authorised lenders supervised by the ACPR, the prudential supervisor attached to the Banque de France. Rentals without a purchase option sit outside that monopoly.
Crédit-bail: an authorised activity
The Code monétaire et financier treats crédit-bail as a credit operation, covered by the French banking monopoly. Offering it on a regular basis requires authorisation (agrément) from the ACPR as a credit institution (établissement de crédit) or a société de financement — the status most specialist French leasing companies hold.
- EU/EEA credit institutions can offer crédit-bail in France under the European passport.
- UK firms lost passporting rights after Brexit and need a French-authorised partner.
- Authorised lessors are subject to ACPR supervision, including governance, risk management, anti-money-laundering and DORA requirements on digital operational resilience.
Location financière: outside the monopoly
A rental with no purchase option is not a credit operation, so location financière and long-term rental can be offered by unregulated lessors, including captive finance companies of manufacturers and specialist rental firms. Many are nevertheless subsidiaries of banking groups and ASF members.
This is why the presence or absence of a purchase option matters so much in vendor programmes: adding one turns a rental into a regulated credit operation.
Publication in the registre des sûretés mobilières
Following France's 2021 reform of security interests, crédit-bail contracts are published in the national registre des sûretés mobilières kept by the commercial court registries, in operation since 2023.
- Publication makes the lessor's ownership enforceable against the customer's creditors.
- It matters most if the customer enters a procédure collective (safeguard, receivership or liquidation): an unpublished lessor can struggle to recover its equipment.
- Location financière contracts can also be published, which is common practice for higher-value assets.
For vendors, this is part of what a French-compliant structure means: correct documentation, correct publication, and a lessor entitled to offer the product.
French GAAP (PCG) vs IFRS 16
Most French SMEs and mid-market companies report under the Plan Comptable Général (PCG). In their individual accounts, leased equipment is not recognised as an asset, which keeps leasing attractive for balance-sheet management.
| Individual accounts (PCG) | Consolidated / IFRS 16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Crédit-bail | Rentals expensed; future commitments disclosed in the notes. The asset enters the balance sheet only if the option is exercised. | French consolidated accounts generally capitalise crédit-bail; IFRS 16 recognises a right-of-use asset and lease liability. |
| Location financière / LLD | Rentals expensed as external charges | IFRS 16 capitalises almost all leases (exemptions for short-term and low-value assets) |
| Who depreciates? | The lessor, as legal owner | The lessee depreciates the right-of-use asset under IFRS 16 |
Tax and VAT on leased equipment
Corporate tax
- Lease and rental payments are generally deductible for the lessee in the year they fall due, at the standard 25% corporate tax rate.
- The lessor, as owner, depreciates the equipment.
- When a crédit-bail option is exercised, the asset is depreciated by the customer on the basis of the option price, subject to specific rules where that price is low relative to the asset's value.
- Suramortissement: the main extra tax deduction still open in 2026 is for heavy goods and utility vehicles over 2.6 tonnes running on clean energy (electric, hydrogen, gas, biomethane, B100 and others), at 20% to 60% of cost depending on weight, for acquisitions until 31 December 2030 (Article 39 decies A CGI). It can also apply to vehicles taken under crédit-bail or LOA — confirm eligibility with your adviser.
TVA (VAT)
- TVA at the standard 20% is charged on each rental, spreading the VAT cost across the lease instead of paying it on the full price upfront.
- When a crédit-bail purchase option is exercised, TVA is charged on the option price.
- A TVA-registered business using the equipment for taxable activity can generally recover TVA under the normal deduction rules (with restrictions, for example, on passenger cars).
Mandatory e-invoicing now applies to lease invoices
France's B2B e-invoicing reform started on 1 September 2026. Lease and rental invoices between French VAT-registered businesses are within scope, so lessors, vendors and their customers all need to be ready.
- 1 September 2026All French businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices. Large companies and ETIs (mid-sized companies) must also issue them, alongside e-reporting of transaction data.
- 1 September 2027SMEs and micro-businesses must issue electronic invoices.
Invoices must be in a structured or hybrid format such as Factur-X and pass through a state-certified plateforme agréée (formerly PDP). For vendor programmes, this means checking that the lessor's invoicing and the vendor's own billing to the lessor are both compliant.
What can be leased in France?
Almost any identifiable, movable business asset with a resale or useful value can be leased, including:
Industrial
- Machine tools, production lines and industrial robotics
- Packaging, printing and food-processing equipment
- Energy-efficiency and renewables installations
Mobile & infrastructure
- Construction and agricultural machinery
- Commercial vehicles, clean-energy HGVs and charging infrastructure
- Airport ground support equipment
Technology & healthcare
- IT hardware, data-centre and AV equipment, bundled software
- Medical imaging, scientific and laboratory equipment
- Office, telecoms and security technology
Your route into the French leasing market
Oak Leasing is a bespoke pan-European funding facilitator for equipment finance across the UK and Europe, established in 1992. We are not a direct lender: we structure transactions and programmes, then place them with the right funder from more than 40 relationships across 30+ countries — including ACPR-authorised French lessors.
Vendor leasing programmes
For manufacturers, OEMs and distributors selling into France. Crédit-bail or location financière built into your sales process, with the funder taking credit and asset risk so funding is never the reason a deal stalls.
Large-ticket transactions
Single transactions from €100,000 to €10 million, plus sale and leaseback and refinance of large assets through an independent European funder, with capacity of up to €100 million per transaction.
Stage payment funding
For UK businesses buying French or European-manufactured equipment: the funder meets the manufacturer's stage payments, secured by an advance payment guarantee, and you pay only interest on deposits until delivery.
Every French structure is built to fit local regulation, publication, tax and e-invoicing requirements, delivered with one point of contact across Europe.
Equipment leasing in France: frequently asked questions
What is crédit-bail in France?
Crédit-bail mobilier is the French finance lease for business equipment, created by the law of 2 July 1966 and now in the Code monétaire et financier. The lessor buys the equipment the customer chooses and leases it for a fixed term with a purchase option at the end. It accounted for €17.9 billion of new business in 2025 (ASF).
Who can offer crédit-bail in France?
Because it includes a purchase option, crédit-bail is a credit operation. Only credit institutions or sociétés de financement authorised by the ACPR, or EU/EEA credit institutions passporting into France, may offer it on a regular basis. Location financière and long-term rental without a purchase option do not need ACPR authorisation.
What is the difference between crédit-bail and location financière?
Crédit-bail has a purchase option and is reserved to authorised lenders. Location financière has no purchase option — the customer returns the asset or extends the rental — and can be offered by unregulated lessors. Location financière is the usual basis for IT, office equipment and vendor programmes.
How large is the French equipment leasing market?
Equipment financing for French businesses totalled €40.0 billion in 2025 (−5.8%), of which €35.6 billion (89%) was leasing, according to the ASF. Q1 2026 showed stabilisation at €9.4 billion (+0.7%).
What VAT applies to leasing in France?
TVA at 20% on each rental. If a crédit-bail option is exercised, TVA is charged on the option price. TVA-registered businesses can generally recover it under normal rules.
Does French e-invoicing affect leasing?
Yes. Since 1 September 2026 all French businesses must be able to receive e-invoices, and large companies and ETIs must issue them through a plateforme agréée. SMEs and micro-businesses follow on 1 September 2027. Lease rental invoices are in scope.
Can a UK company lease equipment to French customers?
A UK company cannot offer crédit-bail into France without French authorisation, and has had no passporting rights since Brexit. UK manufacturers and vendors therefore work with an ACPR-authorised French lessor or a European funder active in France. Oak Leasing arranges this through its funder network.
What deal sizes does Oaklease arrange in France?
Single transactions typically from €100,000 to €10 million. Smaller tickets from around €10,000 are considered within vendor leasing programmes rather than as one-off deals, and large-asset refinance can go up to €100 million per transaction.
Important information
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax or accounting advice. Figures and rules are stated as at October 2026 and may change. Before entering into any leasing arrangement, take independent advice from your own accountants, tax advisers and legal advisers. Oak Leasing Ltd is not a direct lender.
Sources & further reading
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