Paco, a new French coach brand, wants to take on FlixBus from January

Just as one coach brand is leaving the road, another is arriving. French start-up Paco has announced it will take on the long-distance coach market, which is dominated by Germany's FlixBus.

Tickets have been on sale on its website since 3 November.

What happened?

Paco said in a statement on Tuesday that its first departures will take place on 15 January 2027. They will leave from Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse. Paris is not on the list yet.

Paco doesn't own any buses. Instead, it lends its brand, technology, sales and customer service to independent coach companies.

Its website was built by French software company Wiremind, which already runs ticketing for the Intercités trains (France's intercity rail service) and set up real-time pricing for Ouigo high-speed trains. Wiremind will handle distribution, pricing and after-sales service.

The company was founded by three former BlaBlaCar Bus employees. Co-founder Louis Carron-Cabaret says reliability will "make the difference for travellers and coach companies".

Why now?

The French coach market is nicknamed "cars Macron" (Macron coaches). A 2015 law, the "loi Macron", opened long-distance coach travel to competition. Until then, it was largely the preserve of the railways.

FlixBus led the market in 2025 with 65% market share. BlaBlaCar Bus had 34%. But BlaBlaCar announced it would stop running its coaches, which were losing money, and become only a marketplace for independent coach operators. Its buses stop in January.

That leaves a gap, and Paco says the market is "young and promising".

What's next?

The challenge is money. Coach travel only works if tickets are cheap, since it first appealed to a young clientele. Those low prices make the business model fragile.

We'll see from 15 January whether Paco's approach works.