General provisions

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Article 803-3

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

In case of necessity and notwithstanding the provisions of Article 803-2, the person may appear the following day and may be held for this purpose in specially equipped court premises, provided that this appearance takes place no later than twenty hours from the time at which police custody or detention was lifted, failing which the person concerned is immediately released.

The magistrate before whom the person concerned is called to appear shall be informed without delay of the arrival of the person referred to the court premises.

When police custody has been extended but the extension has not been ordered by the liberty and custody judge or by an investigating judge, the detained person must actually be brought before the court seised or, failing that, before the liberty and custody judge before the expiry of the twenty-hour period.

When the provisions of this article are applied, the person must be given the opportunity to eat and, at their request, to have one of the persons referred to in article 63-2, to be examined by a doctor appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 63-3 and to speak, at any time, with a lawyer appointed by him or her or appointed ex officio at his or her request, in accordance with the procedures laid down by l'article 63-3-1. The lawyer may ask to consult the case file.

The identity of persons detained pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph, their times of arrival and of being brought before the magistrate as well as the application of the provisions of the fourth paragraph shall be recorded in a special register kept for this purpose in the premises where these persons are detained and which is supervised, under the control of the public prosecutor, by officials of the national police or members of the national gendarmerie.

The provisions of this article shall not apply where the person has been the subject, pursuant to the provisions of Article 706-88 or Article 706-88-1, of police custody lasting more than seventy-two hours.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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