Paragraph 1: Composition

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L518-4L518-5L518-6

Article L518-4

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force
Ask for lawyer reviewed or certified translation

Updated 7 Nov 2023

The Supervisory Board is made up of :

1° Two members of the standing committee of the National Assembly responsible for finance, at least one of whom belongs to a group that has declared that it does not support the Government;

2° One member of the standing committee of the National Assembly responsible for economic affairs;

3° One member of the standing committee of the Senate responsible for finance;

4° One member of the standing committee of the Senate responsible for economic affairs;

5° A representative of the State, in the person of the Director General of the Treasury, who may himself be represented;

6° Three members appointed by the President of the National Assembly on the basis of their expertise in the fields of finance, accounting, economics or management, after public consultation with the standing committee of the National Assembly responsible for finance;

7° Two members appointed by the President of the Senate, on the basis of their expertise in finance, accounting, economics or management, after public consultation with the Senate's standing committee responsible for finance;

8° Three members appointed by decree on the report of the Minister for the Economy, chosen on the basis of their expertise in finance, accounting, economics, legal affairs or management, after public consultation with a committee whose membership, determined by decree in the Conseil d'Etat, provides sufficient guarantees of independence;

9° Two members representing the staff of Caisse des dépôts et consignations and its subsidiaries, elected for three years by and from among the members representing staff on the joint information and consultation committee provided for inarticle 34 of law no. 96-452 of 28 May 1996 on various health, social and statutory measures, in accordance with the procedures laid down by decree by the Conseil d'Etat. These procedures guarantee the appointment of one woman and one man.

The proportion of commissaires surveillants of each sex may not be less than 40%. Any appointment that fails to comply with this provision or does not have the effect of remedying such non-compliance is null and void. This nullity does not entail the nullity of the deliberations in which the unlawfully appointed supervisory commissioner took part.

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

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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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