French Legal Translation of “offer”: proposer, souscrire or offrir?

⚠️ A frequent false friend: offer ≠ offrir (gratuitement)

The word offer is often wrongly interpreted in French as offrir, with the idea of a gift or free provision.
👉 In reality, offer means to propose something that may be accepted or refused, often under specific conditions.

🧑‍💼 In General or Professional Contexts: proposer

In professional or contractual language, to offer means to propose a service, assistance, solution, or expertise.

Examples:

• He offered his expertise to the board → Il a proposé ses services au conseil

• They offered a solution to the dispute → Ils ont proposé une solution au litige

👉 Using offrir here would be misleading, as it implies gratuity or generosity.

📈 In Business Law and Finance: Share Issuance, IPO, Subscription

The noun offer (or offering) takes on specific technical meanings in finance and corporate law.

Examples:

• Initial Public Offering (IPO) → Introduction en bourse

• Share offering → Offre de souscription d’actions (issuance of new shares to raise funds)

👉 In this context, offer is best rendered as offre au public, souscription, or émission.

🏛️ In Public Procurement: Tendering and Bidding

In the field of public contracts and procurement, offer takes on yet another sense:

• Call for tenders / bids → Appel d’offres

• Tender offer → Offre faite par un soumissionnaire (often for the purchase of shares)

✅ In Summary

📌 TransLex’s Advice

Before translating offer, ask yourself these key questions:

1. Does the term imply gratuitousness or a conditional proposal?

2. Is the context legal, financial, or contractual?

3. Is it about share issuance, public procurement, or a service proposal?

👉 Offer = proposer, soumettre, souscrire, depending on the case.
👉 Avoid translating it as offrir unless it truly refers to a gift or favor.