Subsection 2: The Management Board and the Supervisory Board.

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Article L225-71

French Commercial codeIn force

Updated 8 Nov 2023

In companies which, at the close of two consecutive financial years, employ at least one thousand permanent employees in the company and its direct or indirect subsidiaries whose registered office is located in France, or at least five thousand permanent employees in the company and its direct or indirect subsidiaries whose registered office is located in France and abroad, where the report presented by the management board at the general meeting pursuant to article L. 225-102 states that shares held by the company's employees and by employees of companies affiliated to it within the meaning of article L. 225-180 represent more than 3% of the company's share capital, one or more members of the supervisory board are elected by the general meeting of shareholders on the recommendation of the shareholders referred to in article L. 225-102. The shareholders vote in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Articles of Association. These members are elected from among the employee shareholders or, where applicable, from among the employee members of the Supervisory Board of a company investment fund holding shares in the company. These members are not taken into account when determining the minimum and maximum number of members of the supervisory board provided for in Article L. 225-69, nor for the application of the first paragraph of article L. 225-69-1. The term of their office is determined by application of Article L. 225-18. However, their term of office ends when their employment contract expires or is terminated for any reason whatsoever.

If the Extraordinary General Meeting has not been convened within eighteen months of the presentation of the report, any employee shareholder may ask the President of the Court ruling in summary proceedings to enjoin the Management Board, subject to a fine, to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting and to submit to it the draft resolutions aimed at amending the Articles of Association as provided for in the first and last paragraphs of this article.

When the request is granted, the penalty payment and the costs of the proceedings shall be borne by the members of the Management Board.

When the Extraordinary General Meeting is convened pursuant to the first paragraph, it shall also vote on a draft resolution providing for the election of one or more members of the Supervisory Board by the employees of the company and of the direct or indirect subsidiaries whose registered office is in France. Where applicable, these representatives are appointed under the conditions provided for in Article L. 225-79.

The members of the Supervisory Board referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall, at their request, receive training appropriate to the performance of their duties, at the company's expense, under conditions defined by decree of the Conseil d'Etat. The duration of this training time may not be less than forty hours per year.

Supervisory Board Members

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

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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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