Section 1: Decisions.

Articles in this section · 19

D464-8-1R464-1R464-2R464-3R464-4R464-5R464-5-1R464-5-2R464-5-3R464-5-4R464-5-5R464-6R464-7R464-8R464-9R464-9-1R464-9-2R464-9-3R464-9-4

Article R464-5

French Commercial codeIn force
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Updated 5 Nov 2023

The procedure referred to in IV of Article L. 464-2 is carried out by means of a request addressed either to the Director General of Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control or to the General Rapporteur of the Competition Authority. The request must be sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, via a secure electronic document exchange platform, orally or by any other appropriate means provided for by the administration or by the Autorité de la concurrence.

The Director General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, the Director General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control or the Rapporteur General of the Autorité de la concurrence may also send a request to the Director General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control. The Director-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, the General Rapporteur of the Autorité de la concurrence or a rapporteur appointed by him for this purpose will acknowledge receipt of this request in writing. By way of derogation from Article R. 112-5 of the Code of relations between the public and the administration, this acknowledgement of receipt will only mention the date and time of receipt.

The applicant's statement will be collected by means of a written request. The applicant's statement is collected by an investigator from the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control or a rapporteur from the Competition Authority and is the subject of a statement report.

The Director General of Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control and the rapporteur general shall inform each other of any approach made to them pursuant to the first paragraph of this Article and of the existence of any investigation or enquiry relating to the practices in question and already in progress prior to such approach.

When the benefit of the provisions of IV of Article L. 464-2 has been requested, the investigation report or the notification of grievances and the rapporteur's report may include an assessment of the applicant's compliance with the conditions imposed on it.

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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