Corporate Law

“France’s attractiveness improved further in 2018, despite the slowdown in global growth, economic tensions and rising protectionism”. This assessment, mentioned in the 2018 annual report on foreign investment in France issued by Business France (French Agency responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses and facilitating international investment in France) confirms France’s enhanced attractiveness in 2018.

Attractiveness, however, does not mean lack of control, provided that a simple and fast legal framework is offered to foreign investors.

The French Anti-Corruption Agency, created by Law No. 2016-1691 of December 9, 2016 on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of the economy, commonly referred to as the “Sapin II Law”, has recently supplemented its recommendations by issuing a best practice guide for M&A transactions.

Private equity involves the association of one or more entrepreneurs and one or more financial investors who provide financing to unlisted companies and even sometimes listed companies.

In private equity transactions, investors are expected to exit in the short or medium term. Several exit routes are available to capital investors: trade sale, transfer to the management team, sale to another investment fund or initial public offering.

The so-called PACTE Law No. 2019-486 of May 22, 2019 has streamlined the terms and conditions governing current account advances (i) by lifting the requirement under which the shareholders had to hold at least 5% of the company’s share capital on the one hand, and (ii) by legally recognizing the validity of current account advances made by Presidents of simplified joint stock companies and by general managers and deputy general managers of joint stock companies and simplified joint stock companies on the other hand.

Following the so-called PACTE Law which amended several major areas of French corporate law (Law No. 2019-486 of May 22, 2019), the Law on the Simplification, Clarification and Modernization of Corporate Law (the “Law”), published in the Official Gazette on July 19, 2019 under the number 201-9-744, entered into force on July 21, 2019. This […]

The property ownership tax (taxe foncière) is a local tax levied once a year by municipalities. To calculate the amount of the tax, tax authorities use the cadastral rental value of the property. This base is then multiplied by the tax rate set by each municipality. Any owner of a real estate property is liable for the property ownership tax. However, while the owner is effectively legally liable for this tax, it is permissible, under a commercial lease agreement, for the latter to pass all or part of the burden of this tax to the lessee of the property. But what exactly does the law say?