They represent 65% of GDP and 70% of jobs in France 1. But what makes French family businesses strong does not appear in any statistics: stories, values, links, generations that succeed one another and that, sometimes, question themselves.
As true economic pillars, they are also the beating heart of the regions, rooted, committed, and often inspired by a vision that goes beyond the simple financial horizon.
But behind this apparent solidity lie deeply human fragilities: emotions, inheritances, personal choices… all elements that make their longevity as admirable as it is vulnerable.
Study on family businesses: between heritage, governance and succession
How do French entrepreneurial families seek to reconcile heritage, transmission, and the aspirations of future generations?
Discover all the findings in our study and the testimonials of three French family businesses.
The figure speaks for itself: only 15% to 20% of French family businesses are passed on within the family. Why do so few remain in family hands? What are the human and emotional challenges of family succession? What are the conditions for benefiting from the Dutreil pact? How can a governance charter be implemented?
Only 15% to 20% of French family businesses are passed on within the family.
To understand what really allows these companies to last, as well as the levers to preserve this unique model, we conducted a qualitative study of 85 French family businesses, in collaboration with students from HEC Paris .
As Edouard de Saint Pierre, Managing Director of Lombard Odier in France, points out: “Our ambition is to give a voice to those who keep these companies running on a daily basis.”
We also give them a voice in our study, where three French family businesses testify: Elizabeth Ducottet, CEO of Thuasne ® , Virginie Courtin, Managing Director of the Clarins Group and Deputy Managing Director of the Famille C Holding, and Prisca Courtin, Managing Director of Famille C Participations , and Deputy Managing Director of the Famille C Holding, as well as Pierre Esnée, President of the YOU Famille Hôtelière Group .
Here we share three key lessons, among the most structuring.
1. A strong desire for succession in French family businesses… but a succession plan that remains uncertain
For 60% of the business leaders surveyed, family succession remains the natural outcome. The transfer of ownership represents the continuity of a shared vision and history. Furthermore, there is strong confidence in the new generation: 82% of leaders stated that they support them.
However, among the heirs, trajectories are evolving. Their choices are now being shaped by:
- greater international mobility,
- diverse professional aspirations,
- the search for a different life balance.
What was once taken for granted is now a personal choice, and sometimes difficult to express within the family. This shift poses a real challenge for continuity, but it also opens up a valuable space for dialogue. Passing on the family legacy cannot be decreed: it must be prepared, discussed, and built over time.
According to Xavier Bonna, Managing Partner at Lombard Odier: “ It all starts with anticipation and intergenerational dialogue. “
It is in this subtle balance between individual aspirations and family responsibility that the future of the company is played out.
2. Family businesses that are exemplary in terms of heritage… but more vulnerable emotionally
The family businesses surveyed demonstrate a genuine maturity in their asset management. 76% already have a robust legal structure in place: Dutreil agreements, division of ownership rights, and family holding companies. This approach reflects a strong desire to ensure the continuity of family wealth.
However, this technical expertise contrasts sharply with often inadequate succession planning. Only 39% of family business leaders surveyed have a formalized succession plan.
Only 39% of the family business leaders surveyed have a formalized succession plan
Why? Because succession is a sensitive, sometimes taboo, always emotional subject. We postpone, we wait, we hope that “when the time comes,” everything will fall into place naturally.
This paradox is revealing: while inheritance matters are handled with great rigor, estate planning progresses more slowly. It involves profound human dynamics, requiring time, trust, and a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue.
According to Valérie Montel, Head of Wealth Engineering at Lombard Odier France: “Starting the planning well before the actual time of the transfer allows you to choose the pace, the methods and the people who will ensure the handover. “
When this preparation becomes collective, structured and shared, it transforms into a real lever for continuity for future generations.
3. Advanced operational readiness… but still too implicit governance
In family businesses, governance often relies on a precious asset: trust.
But trust alone is sometimes not enough. When no rules are formalized, the slightest tension can weaken the family balance, and strategic decisions can become more difficult to arbitrate, especially when several sensitivities coexist.
The tools exist:
- charters,
- family advice,
- shareholder rules,
- decision-making process.
However, they are only used reactively, and rarely proactively. Many leaders acknowledge that they would have gained clarity and composure if they had structured these mechanisms earlier.
This paradox is all the more striking given that 80% of leaders already involve the next generation in key responsibilities. Knowledge transfer is therefore a daily occurrence, sometimes intuitive, often informal… but not always governed by shared rules.
80% of leaders are already involving the new generation in key responsibilities
Governance is not just a structure: it is a relational framework, a space where cohesion, trust and multigenerational success are built.
To continue playing their essential role in the economy and embodying meaningful values, French family businesses must reinvent themselves. The key? Anticipating succession, structuring governance, and instilling confidence in new generations so they too can embrace a long-term vision.
