Book V: Service providers

I. - No person may, directly or indirectly, on his own behalf or on behalf of another person, if he has been convicted within the last ten years of a final offence referred to in II:

1° Direct, manage, administer or be a member of a collegiate supervisory body of an organisation mentioned in Articles L. 213-8, L. 511-1, L. 517-1, L. 517-4, L. 522-1, L. 526-1, L. 531-1, L. 542-1, L. 543-1 and L. 549-2, or have the power to sign on behalf of this organisation;

2° Exercise one of the professions or activities mentioned in Articles L. 341-1, L. 519-1, L. 523-1, L. 524-1, L. 525-8, L. 541-1, L. 545-1, L. 545-4, L. 547-1, L. 548-1, L. 54-10-3 and L. 551-1 or be approved under Article L. 54-10-5.

II. - The convictions mentioned in I are those :

1° For a felony ;

2° A custodial sentence or a suspended sentence of at least six months for :

a) One of the offences provided for in Title I of Book III of the Criminal Code and for offences provided for by special laws and punishable by the penalties provided for fraud and breach of trust ;

b) Concealment or one of the offences assimilated to or similar to concealment set out in Section 2 of Chapter I of Title II of Book III of the Criminal Code;

c) Money laundering ;

d) Active or passive bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement and misappropriation of property;

e) Forgery, falsification of securities or other fiduciary values issued by the public authorities, falsification of marks of authority;

f) Participation in a criminal association;

g) Drug trafficking;

h) Pimping or one of the offences provided for in sections 2 and 2a of Chapter V of Title II of Book II of the Criminal Code;

i) Any of the offences provided for in Section 3 of Chapter V of Title II of Book II of the Criminal Code and Section 6a of Chapter III of Title II of the Criminal Code;

j) Any of the offences under the legislation governing commercial companies set out in Title IV of Book II of the French Commercial Code;

k) Bankruptcy;

l) Loan-sharking ;

m) Any of the offences specified in articles L. 324-1 to L. 324-4, L. 324-10 and L. 324-12 to L. 324-14 of the French Internal Security Code;

n) Any of the offences against the laws and regulations governing financial relations with foreign countries;

o) Tax fraud ;

p) Any of the offences specified in articles L. 121-2 to L. 121-4, L. 121-8 to L. 121-10, L. 411-2, L. 413-1, L. 413-2, L. 413-4 to L. 413-9, L. 422-2, L. 441-1, L. 441-2, L. 452-1, L. 455-2, L. 512-4 and L. 531-1 of the French Consumer Code;

q) Any of the offences provided for in this Code;

r) Any of the offences provided for in articles L. 8222-1, L. 8222-2, L. 8222-3, L. 8222-5 and L. 8224-1 and L. 8224-2 of the Labour Code;

s) Offences against automated processing systems as provided for in Chapter III of Title II of Book III of the Criminal Code;

t) Any offence against insurance legislation or regulations;

3° Removal from office as a public or ministerial officer.

III. - The incapacity provided for in I applies to any person in respect of whom a final personal bankruptcy order or another final prohibition order has been issued under the conditions provided for in Book VI of the Commercial Code.

IV. - Without prejudice to the provisions of the second paragraph of article 132-21 of the French Penal Code, the court handing down the decision resulting in this incapacity may reduce the duration of the incapacity.

V. - Persons exercising a function, activity or profession mentioned in I who are subject to one of the convictions provided for in II and III must cease their activity within one month of the date on which the court decision becomes final. This period may be reduced or waived by the court that handed down the decision.

VI. - In the event of a conviction handed down by a foreign court and having the force of res judicata for an offence constituting, according to French law, a felony or one of the misdemeanours mentioned in II, the criminal court in the place of residence of the convicted person declares, at the request of the public prosecutor, after ascertaining the regularity and legality of the conviction and the person concerned having been duly summoned to appear in chambers, that the incapacity provided for in I should be applied.

This incapacity also applies to any unrehabilitated person who has been declared bankrupt by a foreign court when the declaratory judgment has been declared enforceable in France. The application for exequatur may, for this purpose only, be made by the public prosecutor before the judicial court of the convicted person's domicile.

VII. - The fact that a person is not subject to the disqualification provided for in this article does not prejudice the assessment by the competent authority of compliance with the conditions necessary for access to or exercise of the activity.