Before you start

Passport and residence permit or validated visa
Justificatif de domicile — a proof of address in your name
Proof of income or employment, commonly requested
A French mobile number

Step-by-step

1
Open a digital account immediately
Revolut, N26, Wise and the French online banks open accounts quickly and give you a usable IBAN in days. This covers the deposit and first rent while a traditional account is arranged.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1
2
Get your RIB and keep it to hand
The relevé d'identité bancaire carries your account details and you will be asked for it constantly — employer, landlord, utility company, tax office, health insurance fund. Save it as a PDF somewhere you can send from in thirty seconds.
Mobile appWho: You
3
Open a traditional account for the things that need one
Some landlords, employers and administrative procedures still prefer a French high-street bank. Book an appointment with the passport, residence permit, proof of address and employment contract. It generally takes a week or two.
In personWho: You
4
Invoke the droit au compte if you are refused
If a bank refuses to open an account, get the refusal in writing and take it to the Banque de France, which designates a bank obliged to provide a basic account and standard services free of charge. It is a real, used statutory procedure and very few newcomers know it exists.
In personWho: You
5
Arrange assurance habitation before the key handover
Home insurance is legally required for tenants and the agent will demand the attestation on the day you collect the keys. Most banks and insurers issue one within a day online — but not within an hour on the morning itself.
OnlineWho: YouBefore key handover
6
Set up prélèvements and record what you authorised
Rent, utilities, insurance and phone all run on direct debit here. French direct debits are easier to set up than to stop, so keep your own record of what is active.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Residence permit or validated visa
Justificatif de domicile
Employment contract or proof of resources
French mobile number

Things most newcomers don’t know

The droit au compte exists and almost no newcomer knows about it.

If banks refuse you an account — which happens to people with unusual documentation or no French credit history — you can obtain the refusal in writing and apply to the Banque de France, which designates a bank required to open a basic account with standard services free of charge. It is a statutory right, routinely used, and it turns a dead end into a two-week procedure.

Source: Banque de France

The RIB is the single most-requested document in French life.

Salary, rent, utilities, insurance, tax refunds, health reimbursements and social benefits all move by transfer against your RIB, and every one of those organisations asks separately. Having it saved as a PDF ready to send removes a recurring friction that otherwise costs you several afternoons.

Source: community-reported

There is no taxe d'habitation on your main home, which is a genuine saving.

France abolished the residence tax on principal homes, so unlike a British tenant paying Council Tax you owe the commune nothing for living in your own home. Second homes still attract it and owners still pay taxe foncière. Against Marseille's already low rents, the absence of a second housing bill is part of why the cost base here is as low as it is.

Source: service-public.fr

Assurance habitation is compulsory and the handover stops without it.

French law obliges tenants to insure against the standard risks and to produce the attestation at handover and annually. Agents enforce it strictly because the landlord's own position depends on it. It is cheap and takes an hour online — but arranging it the morning of the handover is a well-known way to lose a day.

Source: service-public.fr