Paris

By value, the Americans; by count, Rothschild¹

In Mergermarket's 2025 France table by value, Goldman Sachs led with USD 97.6bn across 33 deals, then JPMorgan and Rothschild & Co at USD 82.2bn. By number of deals Rothschild was first by a distance, 139 against 81 for the next adviser. The US banks win the largest French deals; the French houses do most of them.

The local houses are real employers here¹

Natixis, Edmond de Rothschild, BNP Paribas, Lazard and Crédit Agricole CIB all advised on 40 or more French deals in 2025, and the boutique Cambon Partners made the top ten by count. In Paris, a name that means little in London can be one of the busiest seats in the market.

The French banks, one by one²

In the 2025 France tables, Natixis was joint third by number of deals (60), BNP Paribas fifth (56) and Crédit Agricole CIB seventh (43), while Société Générale CIB fell from seventh to eighteenth by value. By value all four trailed the US banks, Rothschild & Co and Lazard. For deal count, the domestic banks are among the busiest advisers in France.

Rankings swing hard year to year¹

BNP Paribas was first in France by value in 2024 and seventh in 2025, its value down 61%; Lazard went from second to fifth and from 84 deals to 52. One year's table says who landed large mandates that year, not who will be busy next year.

The targets are three schools³

HEC, ESSEC and ESCP are the French targets in the standard lists, and all three sit in the top five of the FT's 2025 master's in finance ranking. The University area covers what their programmes cost and how the calendar works.

The gap year is where the experience is built^4-6

HEC's Master in Management offers a year between M1 and M2 for professional experience, which recruiters see as two six-month internship periods, and its end-of-study internships often lead to a job. Two six-month slots fit the legal limit exactly.

An internship needs a school agreement, by law⁶

A French internship must be covered by a convention de stage signed by the student, the host and the school. In practice an internship is something you do while enrolled, so it has to fit inside the degree rather than after it.

Six months per academic year, paid beyond two⁶

An internship can last at most six months per academic year with the same host. Beyond two months it must be paid, at a legal minimum of €4.50 per hour from 1 January 2026. Six months is therefore the longest a single Paris internship can run.

After a French master's, a year to find the job⁷

A non-EU graduate of a French master's (or equivalent) can ask for a one-year permit to look for work or start a company. During it they may work without the employer needing a work authorisation, provided the job relates to their studies and pays more than EUR 2,800.53 gross a month - which an analyst salary does. It costs EUR 150 in France and cannot be renewed.

The EU bonus cap applies⁸

Paris is inside the EU, so variable pay is capped at 100% of fixed pay, or 200% with shareholder approval, while London's cap was removed in October 2023. The Frankfurt page sets out what that does to the shape of a package.