The Verdict: Need More Info
Your route turns on whether you will register your business in France. If you will not, ask the French consulate whether it accepts a freelancer on the visitor card before you rely on it.
France has no digital nomad visa. The ministry's June 2026 answer pointing remote workers to the visitor card speaks of a foreign employer, not of a freelancer billing several clients, and the visitor card requires an undertaking not to carry on professional activity in France.
The other route is the entrepreneur and liberal profession card, for self-employed people whose activity is viable and pays them at least the minimum wage, currently €1,867.02 gross a month. You must get an opinion on the viability of the business before applying, and the business must be registered in France, which brings French tax and social contributions.
That card lasts one year. A multi-year card then needs French at A2 and the civic exam. It is the more secure route if you mean to stay; the visitor card is simpler if your business stays based where you are now.
Our golden visa quiz covers the entrepreneur card in more detail.