Guides / City guides / Paris
Break into investment banking in Paris.
Paris runs on six-month internships, a gap year (“césure”) and the grandes écoles. Fluent French is essential, and advisory houses like Rothschild & Co and Lazard are major employers.
The Paris recruiting year.
Most students do two six-month internships during a gap year or at the end of their studies.
- Spring–summer
Applications for January starts
Banks recruit six-month interns starting in January. Rothschild & Co’s January 2027 debt advisory internship had interviews starting in September.
What to do: Apply early: many places fill on a rolling basis.
- Autumn–winter
Applications for July starts
A second wave recruits interns starting in July. Rothschild & Co’s July 2027 FIG internship interviews started in November.
What to do: Plan both internship slots of your césure year.
- Gap year (césure)
Two internships
Many grandes écoles students take a gap year to do two six-month internships, often one in M&A and one in another deal team.
What to do: Pick internships that build a coherent story.
- Final year
End-of-studies internship
A final six-month internship often leads directly to a graduate offer.
What to do: Target firms that convert interns into analysts.
- After graduating
Analyst roles
Full-time analyst classes are filled mostly from former interns.
What to do: Keep in touch with the teams you interned with.
Typical windows only. Dates vary by bank.
Ways in.
Césure internships
The classic route: two six-month internships in a gap year.
End-of-studies internship
A six-month internship before graduating, often converting to a job.
Global banks’ Paris teams
Fluent French and English are usually both required.
Who hires in Paris.
Advisory boutiques run large internship programmes in Paris.
| Tier | Examples | Why apply |
|---|---|---|
| French banks | BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis | Large corporate and investment banking teams with domestic clients. |
| Advisory houses | Rothschild & Co, Lazard and independent M&A boutiques | Paris is one of Europe’s strongest markets for independent advisers. |
| US banks | Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi | Paris teams covering French and European clients. |
Applications are capped at some firms: Rothschild & Co lets you apply to at most three offers per calendar year, so choose carefully.
Are you Paris-ready?
Tick what you’ve done. Be honest: interviewers will find out.
The Paris selection process.
- Online application, CV and cover letter, often in French.
- Tests, at some banks.
- Interviews, technical and fit, in French and English.
- Final round, sometimes a recruiting morning with several interviews.
Visas and work rights.
EU citizens can work in France without a permit. Non-EU students need a valid student or work permit; internship agreements (conventions de stage) are usually required for interns.
Check each bank’s eligibility rules, as many internships require you to be enrolled at a university.
Test yourself: Paris
Questions from the Mandate app. Try each before you open it.
In France, many banking candidates come from…
Grandes écoles. Schools such as HEC, ESSEC and ESCP are major feeders.
A “césure” in French recruiting is…
A gap year spent on internships. Many students do two internships during a césure.
Which regulator oversees French financial markets?
The AMF. Autorité des marchés financiers.
The main French stock index is…
The CAC 40. Its companies are listed on Euronext Paris.
Get ready before applications open.
Mandate’s Paris add-on and core technical units prepare you for French banking interviews, with daily drills and mock interviews.