Subsection 2: Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services within the territory of States party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area

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L511-21L511-22L511-23L511-24L511-25L511-26L511-27L511-28

Article L511-21

French Monetary and Financial CodeIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

In this subsection and for the application of the provisions relating to freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services :

1. Banking service" means a banking operation within the meaning of Article L. 311-1 or one of the related activities within the meaning of Article I of Article L. 311-2 ;

2. Competent authorities" means, as the case may be, the authority or authorities of a Member State responsible, in accordance with the legislation of that State, for authorising or supervising credit institutions which have their registered office there, or the European Central Bank;

3. Transaction carried out under the freedom to provide services" means a transaction whereby a credit or financial institution provides a banking service in a Member State other than that in which it has its registered office, other than through a permanent presence in that Member State;

3a. "Significant credit institution" means a significant credit institution within the meaning of Article 6(4) of Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 ;

3b. The expression: "participating Member State" means a State participating in the single supervisory mechanism within the meaning of Article 2(1) of Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 ;

4. Financial institution" means an undertaking as defined in point 26 of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013.

For the purposes of this 4, on the one hand, the word "institution" and the words "portfolio management company" shall be understood within the meaning of Article 4(1)(3) and (19) respectively of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 and, on the other hand, the words "insurance holding companies" and "mixed insurance holding companies" shall mean insurance group companies and mixed insurance group companies respectively within the meaning of 1° and 2° of Article L. 322-1-2 of the French Insurance Code.

4 bis. The word "branch" refers to a place of business which constitutes a part of a credit institution or financial institution without legal personality and which directly carries out, in whole or in part, the operations inherent in the activity of a credit institution.

5. Member States of the European Union other than France are deemed to be States party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

The provisions of this sub-section do not apply to branches of credit institutions referred to in I of Article L. 511-10.

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

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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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