Family business
A company in which a family holds control and exercises a decisive influence over governance and strategy. Family businesses represent 70 percent of French companies and 50 percent of private employment. Their management integrates intertwined ownership, family, and operational considerations.
In practice
Family businesses statistically outperform non-family companies over the long term — ten-plus year horizons — due to reduced quarterly pressure and a wealth-preservation culture. Their recurring weak points are succession planning (deferred preparation, family disputes, taxation), financing (reluctance to dilute ownership), and management renewal (family preference over competence). The Pacte Dutreil and the active holding structure are the two central tax tools for generational transfer.