Paragraph 4: The development council

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Article L5211-10-1

French General Code of Local AuthoritiesIn force

Updated 7 Nov 2023

I. - A development council is set up in public establishments with their own tax status with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Below this threshold, a development council may be set up by deliberation of the public inter-municipal cooperation establishment with its own tax status.

It is made up of representatives of the economic, social, cultural, educational, scientific, environmental and associative circles within the perimeter of the public establishment.

By deliberation of their deliberative bodies, contiguous public establishments may decide to create and organise a joint development council competent for all of their perimeters. By deliberation of their deliberative bodies, some or all of the public establishments for intercommunal cooperation with their own tax status that are members of a territorial and rural balance cluster may entrust the latter with the creation of a joint development council, under the conditions set out in IV of article L. 5741-1 of this code.

II. - The composition of the development council is determined by deliberation of the deliberative body of the public establishment for intercommunal cooperation, in such a way that the difference between the number of men and the number of women is no greater than one and in order to reflect the population of the territory concerned, as derived from the census, in its various age groups.

Community or metropolitan councillors may not be members of the development council.

The duties of a member of the development council are not remunerated.

III. - The development council is free to organise itself.

The public establishment for inter-municipal cooperation ensures the conditions for the proper exercise of its missions.

IV. - The development council is consulted on the preparation of the territorial project, on the prospective and planning documents resulting from this project, and on the design and evaluation of local policies to promote sustainable development within the perimeter of the public establishment of inter-communal cooperation.

It may give its opinion or be consulted on any other matter relating to this perimeter.

V. - The development council draws up an activity report, which is examined and debated by the deliberative body of the public establishment for intercommunal cooperation.

VI. - This article is applicable to the Lyon metropolitan area.

Mariela Petrova

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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

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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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