Artiste-auteur vs Micro-Enterprise and social security.

Apologies in advance if this is long.

I am moving to France in early April from the UK and am looking to set up as a freelancer. I do illustration, graphic design, and motion graphics for clients. Sometimes I include ‘usage rights’ in my pricing for illustration work and I think I’ll be primarily working for UK clients.

I’ve spoken to some French friends online who do similar things. One is ‘Artiste-auteur’ and one is under the Micro Enterprise scheme as she sees her work as the ‘applied arts’. I’ve tried to research both, but I can’t determine which is correct to register as.

Finally, I’d like to start work as soon as possible. The Maison Des Artistes website seems to imply that you need a social security number to register, while here it says a social security number will be generated when applying for a Micro enterprise. Is there a difference between the two schemes? I’d prefer to not have to wait for months to even be able to apply to start work.

For more context: My partner has a job in France and has been there since Feb 2023. I have polish citizenship.

Which would be the appropriate status to register under? And will I have to apply for my social security number and wait for it beforehand?

Thank you so much for your help!