Population
68.6M
Online population
63.4M
Currency
EUR
Population - 64.8M
At the start of 2025, 82.2% of France’s population lived in urban centres, while 17.8% lived in rural areas.
Internet penetration - 95.2%
There were 63.4M internet users in France at the start of 2025.
France’s fintech scene hit a funding slump in 2023, as rising interest rates and global market jitters made investors more cautious. But rather than derailing the ecosystem, this slowdown acted as a reset: by 2024, funding began to rebound, shifting towards more mature startups with proven models and clearer paths to profitability with ~28% year-over-year to €1.3 billion raised across fewer but larger deals.
France’s fintech world has now entered a phase of maturity and momentum. The number of fintech firms has climbed to around 1,200 companies and 14 unicorns covering payments, insurtech, regtech, embedded finance and beyond. Innovation is increasingly powered by AI, data technologies, and “finance B2B” verticals (SME tools, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance) which are collecting larger shares of funding (821 M€ in September 2025).
Source:francefintech.org
In 2025, France’s fintech sector is led by financing (€197M, 26%, incl. Younited), asset management (€171M, 23%, driven by ESG and savings solutions), and enterprise services (€136M, 18%, supported by the 2026 e-invoicing mandate). Crypto and tokenization raised €118M in 2025 (after €260M in 2024) as firms adapt to MiCA. To date, only three French fintechs — Bitstack, GOin, and Metal Gear — hold the AMF’s PSAN license, alongside CACEIS and UK-based Deblock. France maintains its position as the leading equity fundraising ecosystem in the European Union. It attracted slightly more capital than Germany (€751M) and further narrowed the gap with the United Kingdom (€1.35B).
<aside> 🥐 Turning compliance into a competitive advantage
France is emerging as one of Europe’s most proactive adopters of fintech regulation. By enforcing MiCA rigorously, preparing its fintechs for DORA-driven operational resilience, and anticipating the AI Act’s transparency requirements, France is setting high compliance standards. The result: fintechs face stricter rules, but gain credibility, investor confidence, and a stronger competitive edge across the EU.France has even threatened to block foreign crypto licenses from automatically operating locally, not out of zeal, but to ensure the integrity and quality of its market—reinforcing trust and protection for investors while signaling its leadership in EU fintech regulation.
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