The portage salarial market in France

France has 45,439 portage employees in 2023, 5% more than in 2022 and 33% more than in 2020, according to the PEPS 2026 industry report based on Insee data. They represent 18,852 full-time equivalents, because a portage employee alternates assignments and prospecting: 756 hours worked on average over the year. Their average gross annual pay is €30,663, or €40.5 per hour.

France has 574 active portage salarial companies in 2023, versus 225 in 2015, according to the PEPS 2026 industry report based on Insee data. The market remains fragmented: 63% of companies have fewer than 50 posts and 90% generate less than €10 million in revenue; 52 exceed that threshold. In France, 56% of head offices are based in Île-de-France.

In France, 83.6% of portage employees are managers or higher intellectual professionals in 2023, according to the PEPS 2026 industry report based on Insee data. Their average age is 45.1 and 41% are aged 40 or under; women make up only 34% of the workforce. Seven in ten portage employees are on permanent contracts. IT services and artificial intelligence are cited by 79% of portage companies among their top three fields.

Portage salarial is defined in France by the Code du travail (French Labour Code, articles L1254-1 et seq.), notably since the ordonnance of 2 April 2015, according to the PEPS 2026 white paper. The collective agreement for portage employees was extended on 28 April 2017. To be eligible, a portage employee must earn at least 75% of the monthly Sécurité sociale ceiling, or €2,943.75 gross per month full time in 2025, according to Le Nouvel Économiste.

Portage salarial remains little known in France: only 46% of self-employed workers know it, and only one in five understands its details, according to Rebondir (July 2024). Demand is nonetheless growing among managers: 38% of them plan to use it within the next five years, according to an Ifop survey for Freelance.com cited by Le Nouvel Économiste (April 2025). The higher legal retirement age is also attracting seniors.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised into six chapters: portage salarial and its scope, market size and dynamics, portage employees and demand, portage companies and competition, the legal and social framework, and market outlook.

Insee data used in the portage salarial industry report, publications from professional bodies such as PEPS, the texts of the Code du travail (French Labour Code) and trade press articles from the IndexPresse database. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Founders and managers of portage salarial companies, consultants and managers considering this status, purchasing and HR departments that use portage experts, and bankers, investors and advisers who need to understand the portage salarial market in France.

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