CHAPTER IV: HARMONISING THE COMMERCIAL FABRIC

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L5224-1

Article L5224-1

French General Code of Local AuthoritiesIn force
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Updated 6 Nov 2023

I.-An imbalance in the local commercial fabric within the perimeter of a territorial coherence plan provided for in Title IV of Book I of the Town Planning Code may be established by the concordant deliberations of the public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation or the groupings of territorial authorities responsible for drawing up this plan.


II.-The presidents of the said public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation or groupings of territorial authorities shall consult the employee and employer organisations established within the perimeter of the territorial coherence plan. II - The presidents of the said public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation or groups of territorial authorities consult the trade union organisations of employees and the employers' organisations of a profession established within the perimeter of the territorial coherence plan in order to obtain an agreement on the framework for the days and hours of opening to the public of certain commercial establishments located within this perimeter. These commercial establishments may be defined according to their category or location.


III. III - The agreement obtained is valid for five years, provided that it is not called into question in accordance with the procedures set out in II of this article. The representative of the State in the department may prescribe the terms by decree, at the request of the organisations concerned, under the conditions provided for in the first paragraph of article L. 3132-29 of the Labour Code. Reasons for refusal may include failure to comply with the scope of the agreement provided for in II of this article, failure to comply with legislative or regulatory provisions or an overriding reason in the general interest.


IV.-The terms and conditions of the agreement. IV - The detailed rules for the application of this article are laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.

It should be noted that this article does not apply in the event of a breach of the scope of the agreement provided for in II.

Mariela Petrova

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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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