Chapter II: Principle of non-discrimination.

Articles in this section · 7

Article L1132-1

French Labour CodeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

No person may be excluded from a recruitment or appointment procedure or from access to an internship or period of training in a company, and no employee may be penalised, dismissed or subjected to a direct or indirect discriminatory measure, as defined in Article 1 of Law No. 2008-496 of 27 May 2008 containing various provisions for adapting to Community law in the field of anti-discrimination, in particular with regard to remuneration, within the meaning of Article L. 3221-3, profit-sharing measures or the distribution of shares, training, redeployment, assignment, qualification, classification, professional promotion, working hours, assessment of performance, etc. 3221-3, profit-sharing measures or the distribution of shares, training, redeployment, assignment, qualification, classification, professional promotion, working hours, performance assessment, transfer or renewal of contract on the grounds of origin, sex, morals, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status or pregnancy, genetic characteristics, particular vulnerability resulting from one's economic situation, apparent or known to the perpetrator, membership or non-membership, real or assumed, of an ethnic group, nation or so-called race, political opinions, trade union or mutualist activities, elected office, religious beliefs, physical appearance, surname, place of residence or bank account details, or by reason of state of health, loss of autonomy or disability, their ability to express themselves in a language other than French, their status as a whistleblower, facilitator or person in a relationship with a whistleblower, within the meaning, respectively, of I of Article 6 and 1° and 2° ofArticle 6-1 of Law 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on transparency, combating corruption and modernising economic life.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

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

English · French · Russian

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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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