French Legislation In English

Search, Read and Apply French Law. In English.

20+ full codes, 2,400+ articles translated and updated. Case law linked to every article. Read the actual text before you ask a lawyer about it — free, no login required.

Try: L.227-1 SAS governance, L.145-9 bail commercial renewal, L.223-18 gérant removal SARL

20+

french codes

Fully translated

2,400+

articles in English

Updated regularly

480+

court rulings linked

Per article

Free

full access

No login required

Showing 36213630 of 54524 articles for Art. TEPA Act of 21 August 2007

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 1: General provisions

Article 388-2

Open the article to read the full text in English.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 2: Voluntary appearance and summons

Article 389

…by the public prosecutor, dispenses with the summons, if it is followed by the voluntary appearance of the person to whom it is addressed.It indicates the offence being prosecuted and refers to the te…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 3: Summons to appear, immediate appearance and deferred appearance

Article 393-1

…s as stated in articles 394 to 396 and in article 397-1-1, the victim must be notified by any means of the date of the hearing. Article 391 is applicable.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 3: Summons to appear, immediate appearance and deferred appearance

Article 397-1

…with or if the case does not appear to be ready for trial, the court, after hearing the submissions of the parties and their counsel, remits the case to a future hearing which must take place within a…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 3: Summons to appear, immediate appearance and deferred appearance

Article 397-3-1

When deferring the sentence for the purposes of personality investigations pursuant to Article 132-70-1 of the Criminal Code, the court may also place or maintain the convicted person under judicial s…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 1: Appearance of the accused

Article 413

No one is entitled to declare that he is in default if he is present at the start of the hearing.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 3: Taking of evidence

Article 429

Any record or report has evidential value only if it is regular in form, if its author has acted in the exercise of his duties and has reported on a matter within his competence what he has seen, hear…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Paragraph 3: Taking of evidence

Article 438

…who fails to appear or refuses either to take the oath or to give evidence may, on the application of the public prosecutor, be fined €3,750 by the court..

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Subtitle II: The departmental criminal court

Article 380-18

At the suggestion of the public prosecutor, the hearing of the departmental criminal court is set by its president or, at the request of the public prosecutor, by the first president of the court of a…

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Section 3: Publicity and policing of the hearing

Article 401

The chairman is responsible for policing the hearing and directing the proceedings.

AI translation · Updated 8 Nov 2023Open Article
Common Questions

French legislation in English — Q&A

Our translations are produced and reviewed for accuracy, but the only legally binding version of French law is the French original. For court, registry or contractual use we offer lawyer-reviewed or sworn certified translations on request.
Articles are synced with Légifrance and updated as soon as a reform is published in the Journal Officiel, so you always read the version in force — and can see when each article was last amended.
Each article is linked to the key court decisions (Cour de cassation, Conseil d'État, courts of appeal) that interpret it, so you can read the text and its case-law application side by side.
Yes — every article has an AI plain-English summary, and you can order a lawyer-reviewed explanation of how it applies to your specific situation, with next steps.
No. Reading and searching the codes is free with no login. Paid services — certified translation and the legal application report — are entirely optional.
Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In French Corporate Practice

English · French · Russian

Ready When You Are

Talk To A Lawyer
In France.

A 20–30 minute call, in English, to scope the engagement. No obligation, no preliminary fee. You will leave the call with a clear view of what the work will cover and what it will cost.

First EngagementFixed Fee

Talk to a French lawyer.

Reply within 24 hours.

Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

Continue

Related legal services

01 / Read

Browse the French codes

20+ full codes and 2,400+ articles in English, with the key court rulings linked to every article — free to read.

Read More
02 / Apply

Legal application report

A lawyer-reviewed report explaining how the relevant articles apply to your situation, with case-law analysis and next steps.

Read More
03 / Act

Talk to a French lawyer

Scope your matter with a Paris-Bar avocate — incorporation, contracts, disputes — handled bilingually, end to end.

Read More