King & Spalding (JD Supra France)

On March 23, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal issued a decision with important ramifications for investors pursuing arbitration under the Agreement for the Promotion, Protection and Guarantee of Investments Among Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (“OIC Agreement” or “Agreement”). Such investors often confront difficulty at the outset of the arbitral proceedings in...

French businesses continue to navigate the requirements of the French PACTE Act (“loi relative à la croissance et la transformation des entreprises”) passed in 2019. This legislation added a paragraph to article 1833 of the French Civil Code providing that a company is to be managed according to its “corporate interest” and by taking into account the social and environmental issues related to its

France is finally moving forward on the medical use of cannabis. At the end of 2019, Law No. 2019-1446 indicated that French law would allow for a trial for medical use of cannabis-based products. The decree and implementing ministerial order [arrêté] establishing the parameters of the trial were released last week.

The two arrêtés [orders] setting thresholds for transfers of value from pharmaceutical and medical devices companies to healthcare professionals, institutions, and other actors of the healthcare sectors (Healthcare Professionals), have finally been published. They will implement the new Gift Ban legislation that was passed in January 2017, as well as the Decree of June 2020...

In France, Ordinance No 2017-49 of 19 January 2017 significantly modified the rules governing payments from life sciences companies to the healthcare sector. After more than three years, on June 15, 2020, Decree No 2020-730 (‘Decree’) was issued to implement the Ordinance. The Decree will enter into force in October 2020.

The electricity sector, like numerous others in France, has been heavily affected by the economic shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two weeks of confinement led to a reduction in electricity consumption in France of around 15 to 20% compared to the consumption usually observed at the same year period under equivalent weather conditions...

The launch of a single market for gas in France on 1 November 2018 is the last step of the integration of the French gas market, which started in 2005. The single gas market represents a crucial turning point given the importance of the French gas market. France is the fourth-largest gas market in Europe, with an annual consumption of around 50 billion Gm3, or 10% of EU demand...

On 20 March 2018, the Governments of France and Luxembourg signed a new French- Luxembourg treaty (the “New Treaty”), which will have an impact for certain investments in French real estate. Several changes were anticipated since the fourth amendment dated 5 September 2014 to the France-Luxembourg treaty dated 1 April 1958 (the “Treaty”) did not align certain provisions with the OECD model (se

While France had launched in 2011 a very ambitious offshore wind farm development program, aiming to reach 6 GMW of wind turbine installations at sea and of marine energies by 2020, the projects awarded in 2012 and 2014, following two calls for tenders (Round 1 and Round 21), for a total capacity of almost 3 GW, have progressed with great difficulty. The commissioning of the first project, which...

After years of facing international criticism for purported “laxity” towards transparency and the fight against bribery and corruption, France has adopted new legislation aiming to rectify this deficiency, which imposes substantial obligations on companies operating in France. The Law on Transparency, the Fight against Corruption and Modernization of Economic Life, or the “Sapin II Law ”seeks to...

While the development of the first four offshore wind projects awarded by the French state back in 2012 to the consortia EDF Energies Nouvelles / DONG Energy / Alstom (3 projects) and Areva / Iberdrola (1 project) is progressing and operators are getting close to final investment decisions, it was crucial for developers to obtain more legal certainty concerning their projects. Indeed, the...

On December 12, nearly 200 countries reached an agreement that many have described as a historic turning point for global cooperation in addressing climate change. This article looks at the key elements of the Paris Agreement, its legal status, and its potential implications for international trade.

On 12 December 2015, nearly 200 countries reached an agreement that many have described as a historic turning point for global cooperation in addressing climate change. This article looks at the key elements of the Paris Agreement, its legal status and potential implications for the energy sector.

As one of the main measures contributing to the creation of a new French energy model, the energy transition law of 17 August 2015, caps the proportion of electricity to be produced from nuclear plants.

On 31 March 2015, the Governments of France and Germany signed an amendment to the France-German treaty dated (the “Treaty”), which will have an impact in the future for certain investments in real estate. For France, this amendment follows the amendment to France-Luxembourg signed on 5 September 2014 which also impacts foreign investments in French real estate. The same applies for the Germany...

France is Europe's second largest hydroelectric producer after Norway and in 2010 initiated a process for renewing hydropower concessions. At the time, several European utilities expressed strong interest in bidding for these concessions; however, the renewal process slowed down and was finally interrupted in 2012 by a change in parliamentary majority. Nine years after the first steps were taken...

Following the liberalisation of energy markets in the 2000s, electricity-intensive consumers have faced high and unpredictable prices. In this context, seven major industrial groups (Air Liquide, Solvay, Rhodia, Arkema, Alcan, Arcelor and UPM) established a consortium called Exeltium and launched a Europe-wide call for tender in order to negotiate better conditions for electricity supply. A...

The ongoing debate over environmental issues and their impact on the French energy model raises many issues. Successive governments have taken different approaches to the problem and energy transition has been presented as a key initiative of President Hollande's five-year mandate. Following an eight-month national debate and two conferences which brought together ministers, elected officials and

On 5 September 2014, the Governments of France and Luxembourg signed an amendment to the France-Luxembourg treaty dated 1 April 1958 (the “Treaty”), which will have an impact in the future for certain investments in French real estate. Indeed, the amendment introduces new provisions under Article 3 paragraph 4, allocating the right to tax capital gains from the disposal of shares in...

Background of the Reform - In late 2012, the French Prime Minister established a committee for drafting a reform of the French Mining Code, which governs mining, oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities. The purpose of this reform was mainly to bring the mining code into compliance with certain environmental principles, which, since 2005, have been incorporated in the French...

In February 2009, a claim was filed before the highest French administrative court (Conseil d’Etat) by the association “Vent de Colère” seeking the annulment of a ministerial order dated 17 November 2008 enacting the feed-in tariffs applicable to onshore and offshore wind farms (the “2008 Order”). Vent de Colère notably claimed that the set feed-in tariffs constitute State aid as defined by EU...

On October 1, 2013, seven national councils representing French health care professionals posted on their publicly accessible websites information submitted by affected enterprises (i.e., companies) that produce or market medications, medical devices, biomaterials, and other therapeutic and cosmetic products about benefits granted to and agreements concluded with French health care professionals,

France has adopted a new statute on arbitration, Decree No. 2011-48 dated January 13, 2011 (the “Decree”). Thirty years ago, in 1980 and 1981, France was one of the first countries to adopt a modern statute that created a separate, specific legal regime for international arbitration. This regime incorporated a number of principles that have since become widely accepted, such as compétence-compéten