This is also true in Germany (to rent a place you need a bank account, but to get a bank account you need a registered address). You almost always will need a 3rd party to help you. In my case my employer rented an apartment, and then had someone register me there, which required me assigning limited power of attorney. Then I opened a bank account with that address, and the cycle was broken. Note that this also requires a work and residence permit, which is usually going to be a blue card, which is a whole other ball of wax. So, yeah, its hard, but not impossible.
Same in Norway. The purpose is to put the deposit into an interest bearing account in both the name of tenant and the landlord to prevent the deposit from being stolen. Unfortunately, this catch-22 presents an undue hardship for new immigrants looking for either a place to live or a bank account. Reasonable landlords will hold the deposit in cash and give a receipt until the bank account can be obtained, but this is not strictly legal.
I'm pretty sure you can use cash deposits at a bank to pay rent. My land lords in Germany have never asked for proof of bank account, they just provided their account details and asked me to set up recurrent payments. Not every bank offers it, and it's costly (5-20€ afaik), but it works.
If you have a bank account in another country, that'll work as well, you just need a way to transfer money to accounts, as few land lords will accept cash payments.
Same for exchange students in France. Usually they get buddied up with someone to register at their address to get a bank account if they'll be there longer term and need their own lease.
