Is stage de préparation à l’Installation compulsory?
I went along to the Chamber de Metiers and they said that since June all artisans have to complete a course before they can register. It consists of one free introductory day and then a four day course which costs 260 euro. Can you confirm that this is the case? I have found this page which seems to detail this new rule. At the end it mentions possible cas de dispense. One of which is Avoir exercé une activité professionnelle indépendante pendant plus de 3 ans.
I have just filed my fourth annual tax return as a self-employed bookbinder in the UK and I am a senior member of two UK national bookbinding societies. So I am very experienced in the craft and also at running my own business. Are you able to find out if the cas de dispense will apply to me as I have not run a business in France before.