Section 2: La Monnaie de Paris

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Article L121-3

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

La Monnaie de Paris is a state-owned industrial and commercial establishment. This establishment is responsible for :

1° Manufacturing, on behalf of the State, the metal coins mentioned in article L. 121-2 ;

2° Manufacturing and marketing, on behalf of the State, French collector coins with legal tender status;

3° Combating counterfeiting of metal coins and carrying out appraisals and inspections, in accordance with the conditions set out in article L. 162-2;

4° Manufacture and market branded instruments, metallic guarantee hallmarks for gold, silver and platinum, current foreign metal coins, foreign collector coins and decorations;

5° To conserve, protect, restore and present to the public its historic collections and to enhance the historic buildings under its management, by any appropriate means;

5° bis To enhance the value of the real estate assets it owns and, to this end, to carry out real estate transactions or real estate investment activities;

6° To preserve, develop and transmit its artistic and technical know-how; in this respect, and in addition to its other missions, it may manufacture and market medals, tokens, cast iron, jewellery and other objets d'art, as well as any products related to its activities.

In order to guarantee competitive costs, La Monnaie de Paris may manufacture all or part of the blanks required to mint metal coins.

La Monnaie de Paris is authorised to carry out all of its missions and all related activities, directly or indirectly, by itself or through subsidiaries and equity investments.

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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