French Insurance Code
In forceA body is entrusted by the State with managing and issuing, under its supervision, on its behalf and in its name, the public guarantees for foreign trade provided for in Article L. 432-1.
These guarantees may be granted:
1° : a) For insurance against commercial, political, monetary and catastrophic risks, relating to transactions likely to contribute to the development of France's foreign trade or of strategic interest to the French economy abroad;
aa) For insurance operations covering the risk of non-payment of sums owed by companies to credit institutions, finance companies, insurance and reinsurance companies, mutual and provident societies, under French or foreign law, or organisations mentioned in article L. 214-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code, in the context of foreign trade operations under conditions laid down by decree;
a ter) For its insurance operations covering the risks mentioned in a and a bis relating to operations to finance the acquisition by French companies of ships or civil spacecraft produced in France by French companies in competition with a foreign company receiving public export support, in accordance with the conditions of grant and subject to compliance with criteria defined by decree in the Conseil d'Etat ;
b) Repealed ;
c) Repealed ;
d) Under conditions set by decree, for investments to be made or already made by French companies in foreign countries where these investments are of interest to the development of the French economy and have been approved by the country concerned. The same decree determines the terms and conditions of this guarantee. In the case of foreign countries that are not linked to the French Treasury by a transaction account, this guarantee may be subject to the prior conclusion of an investment protection agreement. If the guarantee is called, the State may deduct the amount corresponding to the said guarantee from the aid credits to be paid to the country concerned;
e) For reinsurance operations by companies authorised to carry out credit insurance operations in France, in respect of insurance operations for political and commercial export risks with a payment period of less than two years that these companies carry out towards foreign countries, up to an overall limit of five billion euros. The granting of this guarantee is conditional on the credit insurance market failing. The French State is only financially exposed to these transactions insofar as the credit insurer, co-signatory to the reinsurance treaty, retains exposure to the risk on the companies benefiting from the financing covered by the credit insurance. A decree of the Conseil d'Etat shall set the terms and conditions for the application of this e, in particular those relating to the determination of market default and the minimum share of risk that the credit insurer co-signing the reinsurance treaty retains.
f) For interest rate stabilisation transactions covering the risk of interest rate variations borne by debtors of loans linked to transactions likely to contribute to the development of France's foreign trade or presenting a strategic interest for the French economy abroad;
2° To exporters for the transactions provided for in article 53 of law no. 48-1516 of 26 September 1948, fixing the assessment of the ways and means of the general budget for the financial year 1948 and relating to various financial provisions.
The State guarantee may also be granted to exporters to cover them, under the conditions laid down in contracts concluded with them by the Minister for the Economy and Finance, against part of the losses that may result from the expenses they incur in prospecting certain foreign markets, advertising and building up stocks with a view to developing exports to these markets.
