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Your fixer in France
A fixer opens doors. A production service company carries the budget, the crew contracts and the schedule. We started in 2013 as fixers for foreign newsrooms in Paris and grew into a production service company. Today we are both, anywhere in France, from Paris and Cannes.
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What a film fixer in France does
The job, plainlyA film fixer is the local person who makes a foreign shoot possible. In France that means four things: finding the person who can say yes (an official, an owner, a contributor), getting the authorisations from every authority involved, solving the problems of the day in French, and reading the context so the crew does not walk into a wall it cannot see.
FixersInParis was founded in 2013 by Élie Petit, a journalist, as a fixer for foreign newsrooms in Paris. The newsroom work never stopped: we still fix for news and journalism crews, and we were NBC Universal's local production and fixer partner across the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, coverage that won two Emmy Awards.
What changed is the scale. With Zacharie Petit, producer and line producer, we now run full productions for agencies, brands and broadcasters across the whole country, from a base in Paris and a second base in Cannes.
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Fixer or production service company
Why we are bothQuestionA fixerA production service company
What they doCore jobAccess, permits, contributors, interpreting, local problem-solvingBudget, crew contracts and payroll, permits, locations, kit, logistics, on-set management
Who holds the moneyBudgetUsually you; the fixer is paid a day rateThe local budget runs through them, with a cost report
Who hires crewContractsYou, or the fixer finds namesThey hire on their French entity, so you need no French employer status
Best forTypical shootNews, small doc crews, reporting tripsCommercials, TV formats, larger docs and multi-region shoots
FixersInParisOur answerYes: Élie and the team, since 2013Yes: production services and line production
Why being both matters
When the fixer and the production company are two different suppliers, the hand-over is where things break: the fixer negotiates access the production company does not know about, the production company books a schedule the permits cannot support. We do both, so the person who gets the yes from the mayor is the person who builds the schedule around it. There is no hand-over, because there is no second company.
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Where we fix
All of France, lead times from baseParis & Île-de-France15 working days
Public space goes through the City of Paris film office's online platform. Crews under ten with light kit can qualify for a simplified declaration on a shorter clock.
Authorities: City of Paris film office, Police Prefecture for night, uniforms, prop weapons and traffic. Monuments handled by their operators.
French Riviera (Cannes base)3 to 8 weeks
Our second base. Crew, kit and rooms are booked out across the coast during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Authorities: commune, Département, ESCOTA for the A8, DDTM and Conservatoire du littoral, ONF.
Provence & Riviera permits3 to 8 weeks
The most fragmented permit map in France. Filed one by one, a coastal sequence takes two months; filed together, three weeks.
Authorities: up to six separate desks per shoot. Fire-risk closures in Esterel and Maures, June to September.
MonacoCase by case
A separate state with its own authorities, often combined with a Riviera shoot.
Authorities: Monaco's own administration, coordinated from our Cannes base.
Normandy & Brittany2 to 4 weeks
Straightforward on paper, tight around the D-Day sites and the commemorative calendar.
Authorities: commune, Conservatoire du littoral on the coast.
Lyon & the French Alps3 to 6 weeks
Several Alpine passes are shut until June whatever your schedule says.
Authorities: regional film office, commune, ONF, prefecture for mountain airspace.
Bordeaux & the Atlantic coastCase by case
Vineyards, city and ocean, with coastal sites that follow the same ownership logic as the Riviera.
Authorities: commune, Département, coastal bodies for protected shoreline.
Northern FranceCase by case
Industrial heritage, coast and cities a short train ride from Paris.
Authorities: commune, Département, site operators for heritage.
Loire ValleyCase by case
Châteaux are run by their own operators, public or private, not by the town.
Authorities: château operator or Centre des monuments nationaux, commune for the streets.
All lead times are indicative and confirmed per project. One production often crosses three of these regions; we keep one fixer and one line producer across all of them and hire crew locally in each. For the authority-by-authority detail, see shooting permits and locations.
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How to hire a film fixer in France
What to check01Ask who will actually be thereMany "fixers" are agencies that subcontract. Ask for the name of the person on your shoot and talk to them before you book. With us it is Élie or Zacharie.Check
02Ask about permits by authorityA reliable fixer names the authorities for your locations and the lead time for each. "We'll get you a permit" is not an answer.Check
03Ask how crew is contractedFrench crew are hired on specific contracts with social charges on top. Ask whether the quote is loaded cost or day rate.Check
04Ask for credits you can verifyNamed productions and broadcasters, and references you can call.Check
05Ask what they will not doA good fixer tells you early what will not clear and what will cause trouble in France.Check
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Fixing and production log
Selected from 100+2024NBC UniversalParis 2024 OlympicsLocal production and fixer partner across the Games for the NBC family of channels, daily for over three months. Two Emmy Awards.Wrapped
2025Adidas × Edison ChenCannes & Monaco GPStan Smith campaign during the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, talent George Russell.Wrapped
2026Riviera permit packageClient under NDASixteen communes, drone and heritage clearance. Cost cut from €29,900 to €12,900.Wrapped
RecentThe Washington PostParis bureauReporting, access and fixing for the Post's coverage of France.Delivered
I really can't recommend Élie highly enough. He is the best fixer we have worked with, hands down. Extremely hard working, very flexible, and, most of all, brilliant.
Elie Petit is a bilingual, intuitive French journalist with a strong knowledge of French politics, history and society. I have turned to him many times to assist our news teams on major breaking stories in France.
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Selected work
Verified credits
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Read ↗What does a film fixer in France do?
A film fixer in France makes a foreign shoot possible on the ground: securing permits from each authority involved, finding and negotiating locations, approaching contributors and officials in French, interpreting, and solving problems on the day. FixersInParis has done this since 2013 and also runs full production services across France from Paris and Cannes.
What is the difference between a fixer and a production service company?
A fixer handles access, permits and local problem-solving, usually on a day rate while the foreign production holds the budget. A production service company also carries the local budget, hires and contracts French crew on its own entity, books kit and logistics and manages the set. FixersInParis is both, so there is no hand-over between two suppliers.
How do I find a reliable fixer in France?
Ask who will be on your shoot in person, ask them to name the authorities and lead times for your locations, check whether their crew quote is loaded cost or day rate, and ask for verifiable credits and references. A reliable fixer also tells you early what will not clear in your window.
Do you work outside Paris?
Yes, anywhere in metropolitan France. We have a second base in Cannes for the French Riviera, Provence and Monaco, and regularly work in Normandy and Brittany, Lyon and the Alps, Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast, Northern France and the Loire Valley. We do not currently cover the French overseas territories.
How far in advance should we hire a fixer in France?
As early as possible. A standard Paris shoot needs about 15 working days for public-space permits, and complex multi-authority shoots six to eight weeks. For urgent news and small crews we can move within hours and will tell you plainly which locations can clear in your window.
How much does a fixer in France cost?
It depends on the scope: a day of fixing for a news crew is priced very differently from a full production service with crew, kit and permits. We quote per project, line by line, in euros. See what filming in France costs for the main drivers, or send us your brief for a figure on your dates.
Tell us what you need to shoot.
Format, dates, locations, crew size. We come back within three hours with what is possible and what is not.