How to Apply to Marie Blachère

12 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 1 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Apply on recrutement.marie-blachere.com directly. The custom French portal is the canonical channel; aggregators are mirrors and lose metadata.
  • Marie Blachere is family-owned, Salon-de-Provence headquartered, and growing at roughly 30 new outlets per year, which drives a continuous outlet hiring pipeline across France and an expanding pipeline in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the UAE.
  • For boulanger and patissier roles, your CAP, BP, Bac Pro, or BTM diploma is the single most important credential. List it high on the CV with the year and CFA.
  • Expect French-language CVs, lettres de motivation, and interviews. Outlet interviews are practical and centred on availability, reliability, and fit; headquarters interviews follow standard French corporate conventions.
  • Working conditions are demanding. Boulanger shifts start between 03:00 and 05:00, vendeur shifts are long with weekend coverage, and turnover at production roles is historically high across the sector. CFDT and CGT are present and active.
  • Verify your contract. Production roles typically fall under the Convention Collective de la Boulangerie-Patisserie (IDCC 1747) and outlets classified as fast-restauration under the Convention Collective de la Restauration Rapide (IDCC 1501); confirm the coefficient, periode d'essai, working-time arrangement, and any clause de mobilite before signing.
  • Cultural fit matters. Candidates who value pace, autonomy, hands-on operations, and a family-owned governance model do well; candidates expecting listed-company processes or unlimited remote work do not.

About Marie Blachère

Marie Blachere is the largest boulangerie chain in France and one of the most visible employers in the French food-service sector. Founded in 2004 by Bernard Blachere in Salon-de-Provence, in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, the company remains family-owned and headquartered in the same town where it began. The corporate seat sits in the Salon-de-Provence area, and the family holding structure keeps strategic and capital decisions inside the Blachere family rather than in the hands of a private-equity sponsor or listed-company board. That ownership model matters for candidates: pay scales, opening pace, and operational standards are set by an owner who still treats the chain as a family business, not by a quarterly-earnings cycle. Marie Blachere employs approximately 10,000 people and operates roughly 770 outlets, the overwhelming majority of which are in France, with a growing international footprint in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates. The chain opens around 30 new outlets every year, which is the single most important fact about hiring there. A network growing at that pace needs a continuous pipeline of bakers (boulangers), pastry workers (tourier and patissier), sales staff (vendeur and vendeuse), shift leaders (responsable d'equipe), and store directors (directeur de magasin or responsable de magasin). The company also recruits for its central support functions in Salon-de-Provence (finance, supply chain, marketing, IT, HR, legal, real-estate development) and for regional supervisor roles (animateur de reseau or directeur regional). The commercial model is built around a low-price baguette, freshly baked viennoiserie (croissants, pains au chocolat, brioches), a sandwich and snack range built for the lunch peak, and a pastry counter. The flagship product is the inexpensive baguette tradition or pain courant, sold at a price point well below the historical neighbourhood boulangerie. That positioning is the source of both the company's growth and its controversy. Marie Blachere directly challenged the traditional French artisan boulangerie on price and convenience, and the chain competes head-to-head with Brioche Doree (owned by the Le Duff group), La Mie Caline, Boulangerie Paul (also Le Duff), Ange, and a long tail of regional chains and independents. Candidates considering the company should understand that craft-bakery purists view chain boulangeries with skepticism; the company's response is that it bakes on-site at every outlet and that scale lets it pay reliably and offer career progression that an independent shop cannot. Working conditions in French boulangerie are demanding. Boulanger roles start very early, typically between 03:00 and 05:00, to have fresh bread on the counter at 06:30 or 07:00. Vendeur roles cover long retail amplitudes, often six days a week, with split shifts in some outlets. Turnover at the boulanger position has historically been high across the sector, and Marie Blachere is not an exception; honest reporting from former employees describes physical fatigue, heat, and pace as the principal challenges. Two main French unions, the CFDT and the CGT, are present at the company and have been active in collective negotiations and in raising workplace concerns. Pay and benefits at outlet level are governed by the Convention Collective Nationale de la Boulangerie-Patisserie (industrial bakery agreement, IDCC 1747) for production roles and the Convention Collective de la Restauration Rapide (IDCC 1501) for outlets classified as fast-restauration; the exact agreement depends on the legal qualification of the outlet and is something every candidate should verify on their contract. In 2024 and 2025 the company accelerated its international expansion, opening new outlets in Italy and entering the United Arab Emirates, which broadened the recruitment pool to include international development, expatriate operations, and franchise-relations roles. For candidates inside France, the strongest near-term hiring is at outlet level in growth regions (Ile-de-France, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) and in central support functions in Salon-de-Provence.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Start at the official career portal recrutement

    Start at the official career portal recrutement.marie-blachere.com (the custom French recruitment site run by Marie Blachere). The corporate site marie-blachere.com also carries a 'Recrutement' or 'Nous rejoindre' link that routes to the same portal. This is the canonical channel; offers posted on Indeed, HelloWork, France Travail (the renamed Pole Emploi), and Meteojob are mirrored from the internal portal but candidates should always verify by searching the role on the official site.

  2. 2
    Filter by metier (job family) and region

    Filter by metier (job family) and region. The portal organises offers into clear families: Boulanger / Tourier / Patissier (production), Vendeur and Vendeuse (sales), Responsable de magasin and Adjoint(e) (management), Animateur de reseau and Directeur regional (multi-site supervision), and Siege (headquarters in Salon-de-Provence). Selecting your departement (administrative department) narrows the list to outlets within commuting distance.

  3. 3
    Create a candidate account and complete the profile in French

    Create a candidate account and complete the profile in French. The portal asks for civil status, address, mobility (vehicle and permis de conduire), preferred contract type (CDI, CDD, alternance, stage), and availability date. Upload a clean French CV (one page if you have less than 10 years of experience, two pages otherwise) and a short lettre de motivation. A lettre de motivation is still expected for outlet roles in France, even when the form labels it optional; recruiters read it.

  4. 4
    For boulanger and patissier roles, list your CAP (Certificat d'Aptitude Professi

    For boulanger and patissier roles, list your CAP (Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle) Boulanger or CAP Patissier explicitly, with the year obtained and the school. The CAP is the foundational French diploma for these trades and is the single most important credential on a production CV. BP (Brevet Professionnel), Bac Pro Boulanger-Patissier, and BTM (Brevet Technique des Metiers) are valued for senior production roles and shift-leader candidacies.

  5. 5
    For alternance and apprentissage candidates, apply through the dedicated alterna

    For alternance and apprentissage candidates, apply through the dedicated alternance section. Marie Blachere recruits apprentis at scale every September intake and accepts contrats d'apprentissage and contrats de professionnalisation under both CAP and BP qualifications. The CFA (Centre de Formation d'Apprentis) you are enrolled with should be named clearly on the application; well-known partners include the INBP in Rouen and regional CFA boulangerie networks.

  6. 6
    Expect a phone or video pre-screen within one to three weeks for outlet roles, f

    Expect a phone or video pre-screen within one to three weeks for outlet roles, faster during high-recruitment periods (typically February to June and September to November). The pre-screen is short, in French, and confirms availability, mobility, contract expectations, and salary range. Be ready to state a clear net or gross monthly salary expectation; vague answers lengthen the process.

  7. 7
    The on-site interview is held at the outlet for vendeur and boulanger roles, typ

    The on-site interview is held at the outlet for vendeur and boulanger roles, typically with the responsable de magasin and sometimes a regional supervisor. For management and headquarters roles, expect two to three rounds: an HR screen, a hiring-manager interview, and for senior positions a meeting with a director or with a member of central leadership. Bring a printed CV, arrive 10 minutes early, and dress neatly; for production roles a clean, professional appearance is sufficient and a suit is not expected.

  8. 8
    If hired, expect a formal offer (promesse d'embauche) followed by a contrat de t

    If hired, expect a formal offer (promesse d'embauche) followed by a contrat de travail in French. Read it carefully: confirm the convention collective applied, the coefficient (pay grade) within that convention, the periode d'essai (typically two months for CDI on outlet roles, renewable once), the working-time arrangement (35-hour reference, with possible heures supplementaires or modulation), and any clause de mobilite. Marie Blachere is required to register you with URSSAF and to provide a DPAE (declaration prealable a l'embauche) before your first shift.

Resume Tips for Marie Blachère

recommended

Write the CV in French and use French conventions: include a short titre at the

Write the CV in French and use French conventions: include a short titre at the top (for example 'Boulanger CAP - 5 ans d'experience' or 'Vendeuse polyvalente - disponible immediatement'), date of birth is optional under French anti-discrimination guidance and can be omitted, and a discreet headshot is no longer expected and may be left off.

recommended

Lead with the diploma for production roles

Lead with the diploma for production roles. CAP Boulanger, CAP Patissier, BP Boulanger, Bac Pro Boulanger-Patissier, and BTM should appear high on the page with the year and the issuing CFA or lycee professionnel. For vendeur and vendeuse roles, a CAP Vente or Bac Pro Commerce is helpful but not required; relevant retail or service experience matters more.

recommended

Quantify in volumes that matter to a chain boulangerie

Quantify in volumes that matter to a chain boulangerie. For boulanger CVs, mention daily baguette and viennoiserie production volumes, the number of fournees (baking cycles) you ran, the equipment you handled (four a sole, four ventile, diviseuse, faconneuse, chambre de pousse), and any HACCP and traceability responsibilities. For vendeur CVs, mention average daily revenue handled at the caisse, the panier moyen if you know it, and the size of the team you worked alongside.

recommended

List your habilitations and certifications explicitly

List your habilitations and certifications explicitly. HACCP training, formation hygiene alimentaire (the 14-hour mandatory module for restauration commerciale establishments), SST (Sauveteur Secouriste du Travail), and any equipment-specific habilitations should appear in a dedicated section. For senior outlet roles, mention any management training, the CQP (Certificat de Qualification Professionnelle) Vendeur or Tourier, and any people-leadership scope (number of direct reports).

recommended

Mirror the wording of the offer

Mirror the wording of the offer. If the job description says 'preparation des sandwiches et snacking,' write 'preparation des sandwiches et snacking' on your CV, not 'fabrication de produits traiteur.' If it says 'mise en place du rayon viennoiserie,' use that exact phrase. The recruitment portal does keyword matching, and outlet managers scan CVs in seconds.

recommended

Show stability and rhythm tolerance for production CVs

Show stability and rhythm tolerance for production CVs. List your start and end times honestly (for example 'Boulanger - 03:00 a 11:00, 6 jours sur 7') and emphasise your reliability with attendance, ponctualite, and the absence of unjustified absences. Outlet managers fear no-shows above almost everything else; a candidate who explicitly demonstrates rhythm tolerance is preferred.

recommended

For vendeur CVs, highlight relation client, encaissement, gestion de la caisse,

For vendeur CVs, highlight relation client, encaissement, gestion de la caisse, mise en avant produits, respect des regles d'hygiene, and any experience in food retail, restauration rapide, or grande distribution. Bilingual or trilingual capability (English, Spanish, Italian, Arabic) is a real advantage for outlets in tourist zones and for the international expansion in Spain, Italy, and the UAE.

recommended

For headquarters and regional roles in Salon-de-Provence, follow standard French

For headquarters and regional roles in Salon-de-Provence, follow standard French corporate CV norms: clear sections for Experience, Formation, Competences, Langues (with CECRL levels A1 to C2), and Centres d'interet. Functional expertise (supply chain, retail real estate, controle de gestion, RH operationnelle, marketing produit) should be foregrounded with concrete projects and outcomes, not just job titles.

ATS System: Marie Blachere custom French recruitment portal (recrutement.marie-blachere.com)

Marie Blachere does not use a household-name international ATS such as Workday, SuccessFactors, or Greenhouse for its main recruitment funnel. Instead the company runs a custom French recruitment portal at recrutement.marie-blachere.com (with the corporate marie-blachere.com site routing candidates to it via 'Nous rejoindre' or 'Recrutement' links). The portal is operated in French, organised by metier (Boulanger, Patissier, Tourier, Vendeur, Manager, Siege, Alternance) and by region or departement, and it requires creating a candidate account to apply. The candidate experience is straightforward: browse offers by job family and location, click 'Postuler,' fill in civil status, contact details, mobility and licence information, contract preference (CDI, CDD, alternance, stage), upload a CV (PDF strongly preferred), paste or upload a lettre de motivation, and submit. Offers are mirrored to French job boards including Indeed, France Travail (the renamed Pole Emploi), HelloWork, Meteojob, and regional aggregators, and applications submitted through those mirrors are routed back into the internal portal, but the most reliable channel is to apply directly on the official site so your file lands in the canonical recruiter queue. The portal performs basic keyword and location matching and routes applications to the responsable de magasin (for outlet roles) or to the central RH team in Salon-de-Provence (for headquarters and regional roles). There is no sophisticated AI-driven scoring layer in the public-facing experience; the human recruiter makes the screening call. Practical implication for candidates: a clean, French-language, ATS-readable PDF CV with the correct metier keywords matters more than any clever formatting trick. Two-column layouts, embedded tables, decorative graphics, and unusual fonts can break parsing on any ATS and should be avoided here as elsewhere.

  • Apply on recrutement.marie-blachere.com directly rather than through an aggregator whenever possible. Direct applications carry less metadata loss and reach the recruiter faster.
  • Use a single-column PDF CV with a standard font (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, or Times New Roman). Avoid tables, text boxes, and decorative banners that break the parser.
  • Write in French unless the offer explicitly requests another language. Even for international roles posted from Salon-de-Provence, the screening recruiter is French-speaking.
  • Match the metier keyword exactly. If the offer is 'Boulanger H/F' use 'Boulanger' in your titre, not 'Artisan boulanger' or 'Chef de fournil.' If it is 'Vendeur(se) en boulangerie' use that phrase.
  • Complete every required field on the candidate form. Empty fields are treated as low-effort applications and are deprioritised by recruiters scanning the queue.
  • Attach a real lettre de motivation, even short (150 to 250 words). For outlet roles in particular, a tailored lettre signals you researched the location and the brand.
  • Apply to no more than two or three offers at a time. Mass-applying to every outlet within 100 km is visible to recruiters and reads as low intent.

Interview Culture

The interview culture at Marie Blachere reflects two things: the operational rhythm of a fast-growing French chain boulangerie and the family-owned, Provence-rooted character of the company.

For outlet roles, the interview is practical, in French, and oriented around availability, reliability, and fit with a small team that works long hours in close quarters. Expect the responsable de magasin to ask when you can start, how you will get to the outlet (the question of vehicle and permis de conduire is not academic when the outlet opens at 06:30), what you know about the bread and pastry assortment, and how you handle the morning rush. For boulanger candidates, expect concrete technical questions on dough handling, fermentation, baking temperatures and times, and on the company's signature baguette specifications. A brief practical assessment in the laboratoire (back-of-house production area) is common for boulanger and patissier shortlists; you may be asked to faconner (shape) a few baguettes or to demonstrate that you can run a fournee end to end. For vendeur and vendeuse candidates, the interview centres on relation client, the ability to handle a queue without losing composure, basic mental arithmetic for change-making (even with electronic tills), and willingness to work weekends and early mornings. Outlet managers often ask candidates to roleplay a short customer interaction, including upselling a viennoiserie alongside a baguette or proposing the menu sandwich-boisson-dessert at lunch. Honest answers about your previous experience, including any gaps, are valued; over-rehearsed answers are easy to spot in a small-team setting. For management roles (responsable de magasin, adjoint, animateur de reseau), interviews are more structured and typically involve two or three rounds. Expect questions on people management at small scale (10 to 25 staff per outlet), recruitment and integration of new staff, planning and modulation of working time, gestion des stocks and reduction of casse (waste), respect of HACCP standards, achievement of the chiffre d'affaires target, and management of the relation with the regional supervisor. Behavioural questions about handling a difficult customer, an underperforming team member, or a sudden absence in the boulanger team are standard. Candidates with prior chain-retail or chain-restauration experience (boulangerie chains, restauration rapide, supermarche) translate the most cleanly. For headquarters roles in Salon-de-Provence, interviews follow standard French corporate conventions: a HR screen in French, one or two technical interviews with the hiring manager, and for senior positions a meeting with a director or member of leadership. The cultural questions probe genuine interest in the metier of boulangerie, comfort with a family-owned governance model that does not behave like a listed company, willingness to be physically present in Salon-de-Provence rather than fully remote, and ability to work alongside operationally minded colleagues with deep field experience. Candidates who arrive with concrete observations from visiting outlets, who can speak credibly about the competitive set (Brioche Doree, La Mie Caline, Boulangerie Paul, Ange, independents) and who understand the unit economics of a chain boulangerie are taken more seriously.

What Marie Blachère Looks For

  • Reliability and rhythm tolerance for outlet roles. The company hires on the basis that you will be present, on time, every shift, including early mornings and weekends. Demonstrating attendance discipline in past roles is a stronger signal than any single technical claim.
  • A real CAP, BP, Bac Pro, or BTM credential for production roles. Marie Blachere bakes on-site at every outlet and needs trained boulangers and patissiers; self-taught candidates without a recognised diploma face a higher bar and usually start in tourier or commis-boulanger roles.
  • Customer-facing energy and basic French commercial fluency for vendeur roles. Speed, courtesy, accuracy at the till, and the ability to keep selling during a lunchtime queue of 30 people are the operational virtues prized in interview.
  • People-management capacity for outlet manager candidates. Running a 10 to 25 person outlet with a 24-month employee tenure expectation is a real management job; the company looks for candidates who can recruit, integrate, plan rosters, and reduce turnover.
  • Operational literacy in HACCP, traceability, and food safety. The 14-hour formation hygiene alimentaire is mandatory in France for restauration commerciale; candidates who hold it are preferred and outlet managers must master it.
  • Multi-site coordination skills for animateur de reseau and directeur regional candidates. Managing 8 to 15 outlets across a region requires comfort with road travel, with reading P&Ls per outlet, and with coaching outlet managers who outrank you on tenure.
  • Cultural alignment with a family-owned, growth-oriented chain. Candidates who expect listed-company governance, formalised HR processes at every step, or unlimited remote work tend to be a poor fit. Candidates who value pace, autonomy, and direct ownership thrive.
  • Language assets for international expansion roles. Spanish (for Spain), Italian (for Italy), Dutch or Flemish (for Belgium), and Arabic or English (for the UAE) are real advantages for international development, expatriate operations, and franchise relations roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Marie Blachere headquartered and who owns it?
Marie Blachere is headquartered in Salon-de-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, where it was founded in 2004 by Bernard Blachere. The company remains family-owned by the Blachere family rather than by an outside investor or listed-company shareholders, which shapes its long-term operating style and capital decisions.
How many outlets and employees does Marie Blachere have?
The chain operates approximately 770 outlets and employs around 10,000 people. The overwhelming majority of outlets are in France, with international presence in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates and ongoing expansion in Italy and the UAE through 2024 and 2025.
Which ATS does Marie Blachere use?
Marie Blachere runs a custom French recruitment portal at recrutement.marie-blachere.com rather than a household-name international ATS such as Workday, SuccessFactors, or Greenhouse. Offers are mirrored to French job boards (Indeed, France Travail, HelloWork, Meteojob) but the most reliable application channel is the official portal, where you create a candidate account and apply by metier and region.
What diploma do I need to be hired as a boulanger at Marie Blachere?
The foundational French diploma is the CAP Boulanger (Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle). Candidates with a BP Boulanger, a Bac Pro Boulanger-Patissier, or a BTM (Brevet Technique des Metiers) are valued for senior production and shift-leader roles. Self-taught candidates without a recognised diploma typically start in tourier or commis-boulanger positions.
What are the typical working hours for a boulanger at Marie Blachere?
Boulanger shifts typically start between 03:00 and 05:00 to have fresh bread on the counter at outlet opening (around 06:30 or 07:00). Outlets operate six days a week and most boulanger roles include weekend rotations. Vendeur shifts are long retail amplitudes that often include split shifts, and the entire team works to a high-tempo morning rush followed by a lunch peak.
What is the salary like and which collective agreement applies?
Pay at outlet level is governed by the Convention Collective Nationale de la Boulangerie-Patisserie (IDCC 1747) for production roles and the Convention Collective de la Restauration Rapide (IDCC 1501) for outlets classified as fast-restauration. The exact agreement depends on the legal qualification of the outlet. Always verify the convention collective, the coefficient, the periode d'essai, and the working-time arrangement on your contrat de travail before signing.
Are unions present at Marie Blachere?
Yes. The CFDT and the CGT, two of the main French union confederations, are present at Marie Blachere and have been active in collective negotiations and in raising workplace concerns. Candidates have the right under French labour law to be informed about union representation and to join a union of their choice.
Is turnover really high at boulanger roles?
Turnover at boulanger roles has historically been high across the French chain-boulangerie sector, and Marie Blachere is not exceptional in that regard. The principal drivers are the early start times, physical fatigue from heat and pace, and competition from independent boulangeries and other chains. The company's response is on-the-job training, internal promotion paths, and the reliability that comes with a chain employer.
Does Marie Blachere recruit alternants and apprentis?
Yes, at scale every September intake. The company accepts contrats d'apprentissage and contrats de professionnalisation under both CAP and BP qualifications for boulanger, patissier, tourier, and vendeur roles. Apply through the dedicated alternance section of recrutement.marie-blachere.com and name your CFA (Centre de Formation d'Apprentis) on the application.
Who are Marie Blachere's main competitors as employers?
The chain competes head-to-head with Brioche Doree (owned by the Le Duff group), Boulangerie Paul (also Le Duff), La Mie Caline, Ange, and a long tail of regional chains and independent artisan boulangeries. Candidates considering chain boulangerie as a career often interview with several of these brands; understanding how they differ on price positioning, on-site baking, and franchise structure is useful for interview conversations.

Open Positions

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