French Code of civil enforcement procedures
In forceIn addition to the particulars prescribed for bailiff's documents, the summons to pay valid as a seizure shall include :
1° A statement that the pursuing creditor is a solicitor, which implies election of domicile;
2° An indication of the date and nature of the enforcement order under which the summons is issued;
3° A statement of the sums claimed in principal, costs and accrued interest, together with an indication of the rate of default interest;
4° A warning that the debtor must pay these sums within eight days, that if payment is not made, the procedure for the sale of the property will continue and that, to this end, the debtor will be summoned to appear at a hearing of the enforcement judge to rule on the terms of the procedure;
5° A description of each of the assets or rights to which the seizure relates, as required by the rules governing land registration;
6° A statement that the summons constitutes a seizure of the property and that the property is unavailable to the debtor from the date of service of the summons and to third parties from the date of publication of the summons in the property register;
7° An indication that the summons is tantamount to seizure of the fruits and that the debtor is the sequestrator;
8° A statement that the debtor retains the option of seeking a buyer for the seized property in order to sell it out of court, or to give a power of attorney to that effect, and a statement that the sale may only be concluded with the authorisation of the enforcement judge;
9° A summons, where the property is the subject of a lease, to inform the bailiff of the surname, first name and address of the lessee or, in the case of a legal entity, its name and registered office;
10° Indication that a bailiff may enter the premises to draw up a description of the property;
11° Indication of the enforcement judge with territorial jurisdiction to hear the attachment proceedings and any disputes or incidental claims relating thereto;
12° An indication that the debtor who so requests in advance may benefit from legal aid for the seizure procedure if he meets the means test set out in law no. 91-647 of 10 July 1991 on legal aid and decree no. 2020-1717 of 28 December 2020 implementing this law;
13° An indication, if the debtor is a natural person, that if he considers himself to be in a situation of over-indebtedness, he may refer the matter to the Commission de surendettement des particuliers (Private Individuals' Over-indebtedness Commission) set up by Article L. 712-1 of the French Consumer Code.
If the distraining creditor acts by virtue of a transfer, for whatever reason, of the claim contained in the enforceable title on which the proceedings are based, the summons refers to the transfer deed unless the debtor has been duly notified beforehand.
When the summons to pay is served on a person who has granted a mortgage on one of his assets to guarantee the debt of a third party, the time limit for the summons provided for in 4° is extended to one month.
The particulars provided for in this article are prescribed on pain of nullity. However, nullity is not incurred on the grounds that the sums claimed are greater than those owed to the creditor.
