You have just signed the lease on a flat in Paris, Lyon or Bordeaux, or you have collected the keys to the house you bought in the Dordogne. The removal van is booked, the children are enrolled, and your employer — in London or in France — asks for your RIB, the bank account details slip that unlocks salary payments, direct debits and daily life. You walk into a French high-street bank with your British passport, your lease and a deposit to pay in, and the adviser says no: no French credit history, no French tax notice yet, a foreign passport that the branch software flags for extra checks. Since Brexit, that scene has become routine for British newcomers, because British citizens are now third-country nationals and many branch networks quietly de-risked non-resident and newly arrived British files. This article explains the French answer to that refusal. France gives every eligible person a legal right to an account — the droit au compte — enforced through a designation procedure run by the Banque de France (the French central bank) that can put a bank account in your hands within days. It then explains what services that account must include, when a bank may lawfully close an account, and how you challenge a refusal or an abusive closure before the mediator, the supervisor and the courts. Every French term is explained as it appears, and every decisive statement is anchored to the official text or published decision it comes from.
I. How to get an account opened after a French bank says no
A. Who has the right to an account, and which documents unlock it?
The starting point is a genuine subjective right, not a favour and not a commercial gesture. Article L312-1 of the Code monétaire et financier — the French Monetary and Financial Code — opens with the words: “I. – A droit à l’ouverture d’un compte de dépôt dans l’établissement de crédit de son choix, sous réserve d’être dépourvu d’un tel compte en France : 1° Toute personne physique ou morale domiciliée en France ; 2° Toute personne physique résidant légalement sur le territoire d’un autre Etat membre de l’Union européenne n’agissant pas pour des besoins professionnels ainsi que toute personne physique de nationalité française résidant hors de France.” Three consequences matter for a British reader. First, a British newcomer domiciled in France — renting or owning a home here — falls squarely within the first category, whatever their passport says. Domicile, meaning your real and stable home, is the trigger, not nationality. Second, the right is conditional on not already holding such an account in France; it is a right to a first account, not to a second or third one at a more convenient bank. The statute even anticipates the shared-account question: holding a joint account does not block the right to an individual one. Third, the choice of bank is in principle yours — “l’établissement de crédit de son choix” — subject to the designation machinery described below when your chosen bank refuses.
The refusal itself is regulated, and that regulation is your first practical weapon. The same Article L312-1 continues: “Sous réserve du respect des dispositions du chapitre Ier du titre VI du livre V, l’établissement procède à l’ouverture du compte de dépôt demandée par les personnes mentionnées au premier alinéa du présent II au plus tard dans les six jours ouvrés à compter de la réception de l’ensemble des pièces qui lui sont nécessaires à cet effet.” Six working days (jours ouvrés) from the complete file to an opened account is the legal tempo, and the next sentence governs refusals: “Si l’établissement refuse l’ouverture du compte de dépôt, il fournit au demandeur gratuitement, sur support papier, et sur un autre support durable lorsque celui-ci en fait la demande expresse, les motifs de ce refus en mentionnant, le cas échéant, la procédure prévue au III.” A lawful refusal is therefore written, free of charge, reasoned, and must mention the Banque de France designation procedure. An oral “we don’t open accounts for non-residents” across the counter, with nothing on paper, does not satisfy the statute. Always ask for the written refusal with reasons: it is both your proof and your ticket to the next step.
Why do banks refuse British files in practice, and which refusals are legitimate? The dominant lawful ground is anti-money-laundering identification. Article L561-5 of the same Code requires that “Avant d’entrer en relation d’affaires avec leur client ou de l’assister dans la préparation ou la réalisation d’une transaction, les personnes mentionnées à l’article L. 561-2 : 1° Identifient leur client et, le cas échéant, le bénéficiaire effectif au sens de l’article L. 561-2-2 ; 2° Vérifient ces éléments d’identification sur présentation de tout document écrit à caractère probant.” Banks must identify you and verify that identity against probative written documents before entering into the relationship. And Article L561-8 draws the consequence: “Lorsqu’une personne mentionnée à l’article L. 561-2 n’est pas en mesure de satisfaire aux obligations prévues à l’article L. 561-5 ou à l’article L. 561-5-1 , elle n’exécute aucune opération, quelles qu’en soient les modalités, n’établit ni ne poursuit aucune relation d’affaires et peut transmettre la déclaration prévue à l’article L. 561-15 dans les conditions prévues à cet article.” If the bank genuinely cannot verify who you are — an expired passport, no proof of address, incoherent explanations of the funds — it must not open the account and may file a suspicious-transaction report with the French financial intelligence unit. The same article adds a warning that even the designation procedure does not override this: “Le I s’applique également lorsqu’un établissement de crédit a été désigné par la Banque de France sur le fondement de l’article L. 312-1 et que l’établissement n’a pas pu satisfaire à l’une des obligations prévues à l’article L. 561-5 ou à l’article L. 561-5-1.” A designated bank that cannot complete identification may still refuse, lawfully.
The practical lesson is toailure-proof your file before you complain about the outcome. Present a valid British passport, your French proof of address (lease, electricity bill, attestation d’hébergement if you are staying with family, accommodation certificate), your employment contract or proof of self-sufficient resources, and be ready to document the origin of the initial deposit. Newcomers whose working life straddles the Channel should keep their story consistent across administrations: the employment and permit position examined in our guide to working from France for a UK employer, from the governing contract law to the required permit and the tax position covered in our guide to the first French tax return, treaty tie-breaker and double-tax remedies both feed the bank’s assessment of your file. A refusal grounded in missing or unverifiable documents is a file problem to fix; a refusal despite a complete and coherent file is a rights problem to escalate — which is exactly what the designation procedure is for.
B. The Banque de France designation: your account within days, and what it must contain
When your chosen bank refuses, the statute hands you a second route that ends with an account whether the banks like it or not. Article L312-1, paragraph III, provides: “En cas de refus de la part de l’établissement choisi d’ouvrir un tel compte à l’une des personnes mentionnées au I, celle-ci peut saisir la Banque de France afin qu’elle lui désigne un établissement de crédit situé à proximité de son domicile ou d’un autre lieu de son choix, en prenant en considération les parts de marché de chaque établissement concerné, dans un délai d’un jour ouvré à compter de la réception des pièces requises définies par arrêté.” One working day from the complete file to a designated bank near your home or another place of your choice: that is the fastest administrative deadline in French consumer-facing law, and it reflects the legislature’s view that living without an account in modern France is close to civil exclusion. The refusing bank is conscripted into helping you: “L’établissement de crédit qui a refusé l’ouverture d’un compte fournit au demandeur systématiquement, gratuitement et sans délai, sur support papier, et sur un autre support durable lorsque celui-ci en fait la demande expresse, une attestation de refus d’ouverture de compte et l’informe qu’il peut demander à la Banque de France de lui désigner un établissement de crédit pour lui ouvrir un compte.” The attestation de refus — the refusal certificate — must be systematic, free and immediate, on paper, and it must tell you about the Banque de France route. If the branch will not give you one, that failure is itself actionable, as Part II explains.
The procedure is deliberately accessible. The refusing bank must offer to transmit the designation request to the Banque de France in your name and for your account, together with the information needed to open the account; social bodies, family associations and approved consumer associations can do the same for individuals who need support. The official service-public guidance confirms the tempo in everyday language: the central bank designates the appointed bank by letter within one working day of receiving the documents, and opening the account and using the basic services under the procedure are free of charge (service-public.fr, refus d’ouverture de compte bancaire : droit au compte). The designated bank is then under its own statutory clock under Article L312-1: “Ils procèdent à l’ouverture du compte de dépôt dans les trois jours ouvrés à compter de la réception de l’ensemble des pièces qui lui sont nécessaires à cet effet.” Refusal certificate in hand on Monday, designated bank appointed within a day, account opened within three working days of the complete file: the whole journey from a slammed door to an operating RIB can take a single working week.
What exactly must the designated bank give you? Not a premium package, but a defined basket of basic banking services (services bancaires de base) whose content and pricing are set by decree. Article D312-5 of the Code lists them: “Les prestations de base mentionnées au II de l’article L. 312-1 comprennent : 1° L’ouverture, la tenue et la clôture du compte”, continuing through statements, direct debits, cash deposits and withdrawals, and remote balance consultation, up to “10° Une carte de paiement permettant notamment le paiement d’opérations sur internet et le retrait d’espèces dans l’Union européenne.” A payment card that works for internet purchases and cash withdrawals across the European Union is part of the guaranteed minimum — particularly valuable for a British newcomer who still pays bills in both countries. The account is governed by a written agreement (convention de compte), on paper or another durable medium with your consent.
Two protective layers surround the mechanism. First, transparency is a freestanding duty: Article L312-1-1 requires that “Les établissements de crédit sont tenus de mettre à la disposition, sur support papier ou sur un autre support durable, de leur clientèle et du public les conditions générales et tarifaires applicables aux opérations relatives à la gestion d’un compte de dépôt, selon des modalités fixées par un arrêté du ministre chargé de l’économie.” You are entitled to see the general and pricing terms before you are bound, and the main stipulations of the account agreement — opening, operation and closure terms — are set by ministerial order, not left to each bank’s imagination. Second, the system is supervised: the French Association of credit institutions adopts an accessibility charter (charte d’accessibilité bancaire) fixing transmission deadlines, customer information documents, staff training and even a model refusal certificate, approved by the Minister for the Economy; compliance is policed by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), the banking supervisor. A bank that makes a habit of oral refusals without certificates is not merely discourteous — it is breaching a supervised charter. Financially fragile customers get an extra shield: Article L312-1-3 caps incident-handling fees per month and per transaction for individuals acting outside professional needs and requires banks to offer vulnerable customers a specific low-cost package, with dedicated caps for holders of designated basic-service accounts.
II. Keeping the account: when can a bank close it, and how do you fight back?
A. Closure rules: the six lawful grounds, the two-month notice, and the reasonable-notice case law
Opening the account is only half the battle; some British newcomers discover months later that their account is being closed — a post-Brexit compliance review, a change of product range, or the end of a welcome arrangement. For accounts opened through designation, the statute locks the exit door almost shut. Article L312-1, paragraph IV, states: “L’établissement de crédit ne peut résilier unilatéralement la convention de compte de dépôt assorti des services bancaires de base, ouvert en application du III, que si l’une au moins des conditions suivantes est remplie : 1° Le client a délibérément utilisé son compte de dépôt pour des opérations que l’organisme a des raisons de soupçonner comme poursuivant des fins illégales ; 2° Le client a fourni des informations inexactes ; 3° Le client ne répond plus aux conditions de domicile ou de résidence définies au I ; 4° Le client a ultérieurement ouvert un deuxième compte de dépôt en France qui lui permet d’utiliser les services bancaires de base ; 5° Le client a fait preuve d’incivilités répétées envers le personnel de l’établissement de crédit ; 6° L’établissement est dans l’une des situations prévues à l’article L. 561-8 .” Six grounds, exhaustive: deliberate use for suspected illegal purposes, inaccurate information, loss of the domicile or residence condition, a second account opened later, repeated rudeness towards staff, or the anti-money-laundering impossibility situation. Leaving France permanently, for example, fits the third ground; simply being British, or being unprofitable as a customer, fits none of them.
Even where a ground exists, the form imposed by Article L312-1 is mandatory and protective: “Toute résiliation à l’initiative de l’établissement de crédit fait l’objet d’un courrier sur support papier, envoyé gratuitement au client. La décision de résiliation est motivée sauf lorsque cette motivation contrevient aux objectifs de sécurité nationale ou de maintien de l’ordre public. La décision de résiliation à l’initiative de l’établissement est adressée, pour information, à la Banque de France.” A free paper letter, a reasoned decision (except for national-security or public-order cases), and a copy to the Banque de France for information. And above all, time: “Un délai minimum de deux mois de préavis est octroyé au titulaire du compte, sauf dans les cas mentionnés au 1° et au 2°.” Two months’ minimum notice, lost only for suspected illegal use or inaccurate information. The same letter must tell you about the bank’s customer-relations department and about mediation (médiation) for disputes about the termination. A closure notified by telephone, by a message in the online banking inbox with immediate effect, or by a letter that gives no reason and no notice period, fails this test on several independent counts — each failure a lever for challenge.
For ordinary (non-designated) accounts, closure is governed by the account agreement and the general law, but the courts impose a freestanding duty of reasonable notice that has real teeth. In a published ruling of 21 February 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal held that “la clôture ne peut intervenir que moyennant le respect d’un préavis suffisant, permettant client de conclure de nouveaux services bancaires, ce qui s’apprécie notamment au regard de la taille de la société cliente et de la nature de son activité” (Cour d’appel de Paris, 21 February 2024, No 21/14330). The principle is general even though the case concerned business accounts: closure requires sufficient notice enabling the customer to arrange replacement banking, assessed in light of the customer’s situation and activity. Where the notice given was too short for the nature and volume of the customer’s activity, the court found the closure procedurally faulty and ordered the bank to pay 8,000 euros in damages for material loss, plus 3,000 euros under Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Transposed to a British newcomer — salary about to land, rent direct debits running, no alternative account yet open — a brutal same-week closure with no time to re-route essential payments is precisely the kind of faulty modality this case law sanctions. Keep the closure letter, the envelope with its postmark, screenshots of blocked payments and every resulting fee: damages are proved with documents, not adjectives.
B. Your three remedies: the mediator, the supervisor, and the judge — plus the Paris practicalities
Faced with a refusal without certificate, a designation that stalls, or a closure that breaches the rules, a British resident has three complementary remedies, to be used in the right order. The first is the bank mediator (médiateur bancaire). Every bank must offer free recourse to an independent mediator for disputes with individual customers, and the termination letter itself must mention mediation. The route is: written complaint to the branch, then to the bank’s customer-relations department, then referral to the mediator, who issues a reasoned opinion usually within ninety days. Mediation is free, in French, and conducted on documents — which is why every step of this article has insisted on paper: the refusal certificate or proof you asked for one, the complete file receipts, the closure letter, the direct-debit rejects. A mediator’s opinion is not a judgment, but banks follow it in the large majority of cases, and a favourable opinion massively strengthens any later court claim.
The second remedy is the supervisor. The ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) polices compliance with the accessibility charter and with the designation machinery; it handles complaints about supervised practices and can sanction institutions. A complaint to the ACPR is particularly apt where the problem is systemic rather than individual: a branch network that systematically refuses British newcomers orally, never issues refusal certificates, or ignores Banque de France designations. The Banque de France itself, which runs the designation procedure, also receives information copies of termination decisions and monitors the effectiveness of the right to an account. Individual compensation does not come from the supervisor, but a supervisory file number concentrates a bank’s mind wonderfully in parallel mediation or litigation.
The third remedy is the judge. Abusive closure and faulty procedures sound in damages before the civil courts — the tribunal judiciaire (the ordinary civil court) for most customer claims — on the basis of breach of the account agreement, breach of the statutory duties of Articles L312-1 and L312-1-1, and the reasonable-notice case law illustrated by the 2024 Paris ruling. The claim seeks the proven loss: rejected-payment fees, late-payment penalties on rent or tax, exchange-rate losses from emergency transfers, and where appropriate moral damages for the disruption. Urgent cases have an urgent route: the summary judge (juge des référés) can order interim measures — for example, maintaining account operation pending trial — where the closure manifestly breaches the notice rules and causes imminent harm. Proceedings are in French, representation by an avocat (a member of the French Bar) is required before the tribunal judiciaire in most cases, and limitation periods run, so do not let mediation drift past the point where a court claim must be filed to preserve your rights.
Paris and Île-de-France practicalities close the picture, since most British newcomers land in the capital. Banque de France branches across Paris and the inner suburbs receive designation files; the ACPR sits in Paris; every major bank’s mediator and customer-relations department has a Paris postal address for formal complaints. If your French is still basic, send complaints by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception), keep copies of everything, and have key documents — passport, lease, employment contract, the refusal certificate — scanned and available: designation and mediation both run on complete files, and an incomplete file is the most common cause of delay. The branch that refused you orally on Monday can become the file your mediator decides on within months — provided you created the paper trail the law expects.
Conclusion
No bank in France owes you an account as a commercial favour, but French law owes you one as a right. A British newcomer domiciled in France who holds no French account can demand written, reasoned decisions, collect the free and immediate refusal certificate, and obtain a designated bank from the Banque de France within one working day and an operating account within three working days of the complete file, with a guaranteed basket of basic services. Once opened, a designated account can only be closed on six exhaustive grounds, with a reasoned paper letter and two months’ notice; ordinary accounts benefit from the courts’ reasonable-notice requirement, priced in Paris in 2024 at 8,000 euros for a brutally short closure. Refusal without paper, designation ignored, closure without notice: each breach has its forum — the mediator for speed, the supervisor for systems, the judge for compensation. Arrive with complete documents, insist on every written certificate the statutes promise, and the door the branch closed will open again, this time by operation of law.