Chapter VII: Participative finance service providers

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Article L547-1

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force

Updated 7 Nov 2023

Participative finance service providers are the legal persons defined in e) of paragraph 1 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/1503 of 7 October 2020.

They shall be authorised, under the conditions laid down in this regulation, by the Autorité des marchés financiers. If the applicant's programme of operations includes facilitating the granting of loans, the authorisation as a participatory finance service provider shall be issued by the Autorité des marchés financiers only after obtaining the assent of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution. Extensions of authorisation are granted under the same conditions.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is responsible for supervising and monitoring authorised service providers and will request the approval of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) if the service provider's programme of operations includes facilitating the granting of loans. The Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution shall inform the Autorité des marchés financiers of any relevant information.

The Autorité des marchés financiers may withdraw the authorisation of a provider of equity financing services at the request of the provider. It may also be decided ex officio by the Autorité des marchés financiers in the situations mentioned in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of 7 October 2020. If the applicant's programme of operations includes facilitating the granting of loans, the withdrawal of authorisation is subject to the assent of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution.

Withdrawal of authorisation takes effect on expiry of a period determined by the Autorité des marchés financiers.

During this period:

1° The provider of participative financing services is subject to supervision by the Autorité des marchés financiers. Without prejudice to the powers conferred on it by Articles 30 and 40 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/1503 of 7 October 2020, the Autorité des marchés financiers may impose the penalties provided for in Article L. 621-15 against any equity crowdfunding service provider whose authorisation has been withdrawn;

2° It may only carry out transactions that are strictly necessary to protect the interests of its customers;

3° It may only refer to its status as an equity crowdfunding service provider by stating that its authorisation is being withdrawn;

4° At the end of this period, the legal entity concerned loses its status as an equity crowdfunding service provider and must have changed its corporate name.

A decree shall specify the conditions of application of this article.

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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