Legal & Contracting in France

Full guide · Source-checked research97% of statements checked against a source143 checked against an official source4 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-19Not yet professionally reviewed

• Every SAS must have a président who represents the company towards third parties, and the shareholders set the company's governance, decision-making and share-transfer rules in the articles within the legal framework.

  Collective decisions require at least a majority of votes cast; the articles cannot set a lower threshold.Service Public Entreprendre (DILA, Prime Minister's Office) · checked 2026-10-18

• The manager (gérant) of an SARL must be a natural person, who may or may not be a partner.

  A legal person cannot be gérant of an SARL; this contrasts with the SAS.Service Public Entreprendre (DILA, Prime Minister's Office) · checked 2026-10-18

• Transfers of personal data outside the EEA based on European Commission standard contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, approved codes of conduct or approved certification need no CNIL authorisation; transfers based on bespoke contractual clauses require CNIL authorisation.

  Applies where no Commission adequacy decision covers the destination. Derogations under GDPR Article 49 are available only in specific situations.Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) · checked 2026-10-18

• A merger must be notified to the Autorité de la concurrence when the parties' combined worldwide turnover exceeds EUR 250 million, at least two parties each have French turnover above EUR 80 million, and the deal does not fall under EU merger control.

  Turnover excluding tax. Separate, lower thresholds apply to retail and to French overseas territories. Thresholds apply to deals notified from 1 September 2026 (previously EUR 150 million and EUR 50 million).Autorité de la concurrence · checked 2026-10-18

• A capital company with its registered office in France must establish, publish and implement a vigilance plan if, over its last two financial years, it and its French subsidiaries employ at least 5,000 people, or it and its French and foreign subsidiaries employ at least 10,000.

  Commercial Code, article L.225-102-4. Covers SA, SCA, SE and SAS. A French company with 5,000 or more employees whose foreign parent has not adopted a plan covering it is also covered; subsidiaries are exempt where the controlling company's plan covers them. The plan contains a risk map, assessment procedures for subsidiaries, subcontractors and suppliers, mitigation actions, an alert mechanism set up with trade unions and a monitoring system.Portail RSE (French government service, beta.gouv.fr) · checked 2026-10-19

• Judgments from other EU member states in civil and commercial matters are recognised and enforced in France without an exequatur procedure under the Brussels I bis Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012; judgments from non-EU states need an exequatur from the French judicial court unless a treaty provides otherwise.

  Applies to proceedings started on or after 10 January 2015 for Brussels I bis. The Hague Judgments Convention 2019 applies between the EU and other contracting states for proceedings within its scope.EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union) · checked 2026-10-19

• An assignment of author's rights must be in writing and must list the rights assigned exhaustively and define the scope of use; an employment contract does not by itself transfer author's rights to the employer, except that economic rights in software created by an employee in the course of duties pass automatically to the employer.

  Only economic (patrimonial) rights can be assigned. The contract should state the works, rights, media, territory, duration and price.Service Public Entreprendre (DILA, Prime Minister's Office) · checked 2026-10-19

• A company that fails to establish or publish its vigilance plan can be given formal notice with three months to comply, after which any person with standing can ask the court to order compliance under penalty payments; a company can also be held civilly liable for harm caused by a failure of vigilance.

  Commercial Code articles L.225-102-4 and L.225-102-5. A public buyer may exclude a company that did not establish a plan for the previous year (Code de la commande publique, article L.2141-7-1). The plan and its implementation report are included in the management report.Portail RSE (French government service, beta.gouv.fr) · checked 2026-10-19

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