TITLE III: Economic concentration.

Articles in this section · 11

L430-1L430-2L430-3L430-4L430-5L430-6L430-7L430-7-1L430-8L430-9L430-10

Article L430-2

French Commercial codeIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

I.-The provisions of Articles L. 430-3 et seq. of this Title any concentration within the meaning of Article L. 430-1, when the following three conditions are met:

the total worldwide turnover excluding tax of all the undertakings or groups of natural or legal persons party to the concentration exceeds €150 million;

the total turnover excluding tax achieved in France by at least two of the undertakings or groups of natural or legal persons involved is greater than €50 million;

the transaction does not fall within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings.

II.-Where at least two of the parties to the concentration operate one or more retail shops, the provisions of Articles L. 430-3 et seq. of this Title shall apply to any concentration within the meaning of Article L. 430-1, when the following three conditions are met:

the total worldwide turnover excluding tax of all the undertakings or groups of natural or legal persons party to the concentration exceeds €75 million;

the total turnover excluding tax achieved in France in the retail sector by at least two of the undertakings or groups of natural persons or legal entities involved is greater than €15 million;

the transaction does not fall within the scope of the aforementioned Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004.

III.-Where at least one of the parties to the concentration carries on all or part of its business in one or more overseas departments, in the Department of Mayotte, in the Wallis and Futuna Islands or in the overseas collectivities of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, any concentration, within the meaning of Article L. 430-1, when the following three conditions are met:

the total worldwide turnover excluding tax of all the undertakings or groups of natural persons or legal entities party to the concentration exceeds €75 million;

the total turnover excluding tax achieved individually in at least one of the departments or territorial collectivities concerned by at least two of the undertakings or groups of natural or legal persons concerned is greater than €15 million, or €5 million in the retail sector without it being necessary for this threshold to be reached by all the undertakings concerned in the same department or territorial collectivity ;

-the transaction does not fall within the scope of the aforementioned Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004.

IV.-A concentration referred to in I, II or III falling within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004, referred to above, which has been the subject of a full or partial referral to the Competition Authority shall be subject, within the limits of such referral, to the provisions of this Title.

V.-The turnover figures referred to in I, II and III shall be calculated in accordance with the procedures defined by Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004, referred to above.

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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