I recently moved to France, even relatively simple things such as renting an apartment require ridiculous amounts of paperwork compared to the UK. I can't imagine starting a business here.
As a landlord in France, I can assure you that renters have extreme protections here. They can avoid paying rent for months on end without being evicted. That's why we have to ask for so many documents, to try to reduce as much as possible the risk for us.
Furthermore, the documents a landlord can ask a potential renter is limited by law, so there shouldn't be any abuse with that.
But when it comes to setting up a company France is nightmarish compared to the UK, which has one of the simplest, quickest, and cheapest systems around.
Yes it would be better without the bureaucracy but it doesn't mean it is unsurmountable.
Sure, today it's easier to open a company in the country of your choice, but there might be cases where you want or need to open it in a specific country.
(Also, life happens. I doubt the work of any startup started only after the paperwork was 100%)
Basically, landlords are reluctant to rent people who may not be able to pay. And it takes years to evict. The more likely you aren’t in that group the less paperwork they’ll need.