Annexes to the regulatory part

Articles in this section · 35

Article Annexe 7-3

French Commercial codeIn force

Updated 4 Nov 2023

Seat and jurisdiction of the mixed commercial courts in the overseas departmentsmer

DEPARTEMENT

Judicial TRIBUNAL

SEAT AND RESSORT OF THE MIXED COURTS OF COMMERCE

Seat

Ressort

Cour d'appel de Basse-Terre

Guadeloupe

Basse-Terre

Basse-Terre

Resort of the tribunal judiciaire
de Basse-Terre

Pointe-à-Pitre

Pointe-à-Pitre

Ressort of the judicial court
of Pointe-à-Pitre

Cayenne Court of Appeal

Guyane

Cayenne

Cayenne

Ressort of the Cayenne judicial court
de Cayenne

Cour d'appel de Fort-de-France

Martinique

Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France

Ressort du tribunal judiciaire
de Fort-de-France

Cour d'appel de Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion

Mayotte

Mamoudzou

Mamoudzou

Ressort du tribunal judiciaire
de Mamoudzou

La Réunion

Saint-DenisSaint-Denis

Ressort du tribunal judiciaire
de Saint-Denis

Saint-PierreSaint-Pierre

Ressort of the judicial court
of Saint-Pierre

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

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

English · French · Russian

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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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