Senior modeling agencies in France

This catalogue lists 137 agencies in France, including Enjoy, Agence Di, Elite Paris and Karin. It includes every agency that represents models; we do not vouch for them, and each profile shows the facts we found, good and bad.

The catalogue lists 137 agencies, 94 of them in Paris. We include every agency that represents models, including those that run their own school or charge applicants a fee. We do not rate them or vouch for them: each profile shows what we found, good and bad, such as fees, courses, the company's status in the register and press reports. 68 agencies are on the SYNAM or FFAM member lists. Only hostess and promotion staffing firms without models, open self-registration databases, actor-only agencies, schools that represent nobody and closed agencies are left out.

You get at least a third of what the client pays the agency – 33% for magazine editorials, 36% for other work – and never less than the minimum rates: from about €112 an hour or €559 a day for shoots, shows and advertising in 2025, plus 10% holiday pay. Established models negotiate well above that. Editorials pay least (€40–101 an hour) because they build your book rather than your income.

No. Advice about becoming a model is free by law, and a licensed agency earns from the client's fee, not from you. If it pays for your tests or comp cards, it can only recover that from your future earnings, at most 20% of each payment. A 'registration', 'book' or 'casting' fee asked upfront means you are not dealing with a licensed agency. The catalogue also includes agencies that sell training or photo shoots; where we found such a fee, the profile states it with the price, so check before you apply.

Not without a contract. If a licensed French agency gives you a collaboration agreement, a stay of up to 3 months needs only a short-stay visa and no work permit; for longer, the agency applies for a work permit and you get a long-stay visa of up to 12 months. EU and EEA citizens need neither a visa nor a permit.

Ask for its licence number and to see the licence order: the licence is compulsory in France, so every agency working lawfully has one, along with a bank guarantee. It must also give you a written contract and a copy of each booking contract before you accept a job. An agency's profile in this catalogue shows whether a licence number and SYNAM or FFAM membership are known. If it has neither, ask the agency for the number before you sign.

Yes, but only through an agency with a special approval for children under 16. A doctor's opinion is needed, working hours are limited, and part of the earnings is kept in a state-held account until the child turns 18. Children's minimum rates in 2025 are €76 an hour for shoots and shows and €94 an hour for commercials.

Usually not. Under the French Labour Code any contract that engages a model for pay is presumed to be an employment contract, so the agency employs you, pays a salary and withholds social contributions and tax. Non-residents are subject to a special withholding tax: for 2025 income, 0% up to €17,122, 12% up to €49,667 and 20% above that. The exception is a self-employed model established in another EU or EEA country who comes to France temporarily to provide services.

They are the two professional bodies of French model agencies. FFAM (Fédération française des agences de mannequins) was founded in 2004 and admits only agencies holding the state licence. SYNAM (Syndicat national des agences de mannequins) was created in 2009 by merging SAM, founded in 1972, and UNAM, founded in 1992; it represents agencies before ministries and conducts social dialogue with employee unions. Neither issues licences – the licence is granted by the Prefect of Paris. Catalogue profiles show membership, but it is not a condition for being listed.

The law lets an agency recover costs it advanced for your career and promotion (tests, comp cards, travel) only through deductions from your pay, and no more than 20% of each payment. The apartment price and how it is deducted should be written into your contract or a separate agreement before you arrive. Ask regularly for a statement showing every booking, the commission and each deduction.