The legal system of France
The source of the Napoleonic tradition exported across Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. A defining feature is the dual jurisdiction: ordinary courts under the Cour de cassation and a separate administrative order under the Conseil d’État.
Legal tradition
France belongs to the civil law tradition. The source of the Napoleonic tradition exported across Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. A defining feature is the dual jurisdiction: ordinary courts under the Cour de cassation and a separate administrative order under the Conseil d’État.
How power is divided
Semi-presidential: the President holds reserved powers over defence and foreign affairs; the Government answers to Parliament. The Conseil constitutionnel reviews statutes before promulgation and, since 2008, on referral from litigation.
Where law comes from
- Constitution and bloc de constitutionnalité
- Includes the 1789 Declaration and the Charter for the Environment.
- EU law and treaties
- Rank above ordinary domestic statute.
- Lois
- Statutes voted by Parliament.
- Règlements
- Decrees and orders; the executive holds autonomous regulatory power.
- Codes
- Civil, penal, commercial, labour and around seventy more.
The legal profession
Avocats qualify through a CRFPA examination and the CAPA. Notaires, huissiers and avocats aux Conseils are separate regulated professions.
Law by topic in France
- Employment & LabourCode du travail with 35-hour week and cause réelle et sérieuseDismissal requires a real and serious cause plus a prescribed procedure including a preliminary interview. The statutory working week is 35 hours, with overtime compensated.
- Data Protection & PrivacyThe GDPR applied through the loi Informatique et Libertés, policed by the CNILFrance applies the GDPR alongside its pioneering 1978 Data Protection Act. The CNIL, the world's oldest data-protection regulator, supervises compliance and issues some of Europe's largest fines.
- Criminal LawAn investigating-judge tradition with a Code pénal and Code de procédure pénaleSerious offences are investigated by a juge d'instruction and tried, for crimes, by the cour d'assises or the newer cour criminelle départementale. The parquet directs prosecution and lesser cases go before the tribunal correctionnel.
- Civil ProcedureWritten procedure before the tribunal judiciaire, with provisional enforcement by defaultCivil claims go to the tribunal judiciaire, which absorbed the former tribunaux d'instance and de grande instance in 2020. Procedure is predominantly written and judge-managed, and since 2020 first-instance judgments are provisionally enforceable as a matter of course.
- Administrative LawA separate administrative court order headed by the Conseil d'ÉtatFrance separates administrative from ordinary justice. Disputes with the state go to tribunaux administratifs, then cours administratives d'appel, then the Conseil d'État.
- Tax LawWorldwide taxation of residents, 20% VAT and withholding at sourceResidents are taxed on worldwide income on a progressive scale, with tax now withheld at source (prélèvement à la source) since 2019. Standard VAT is 20%, and a wealth tax on real estate (IFI) replaced the former ISF in 2018.
- Constitutional LawSemi-presidential Fifth Republic with a priority constitutional questionThe 1958 Constitution divides executive power between President and Prime Minister. Since 2008 litigants can raise a question prioritaire de constitutionnalité during ordinary proceedings.
- Human RightsRights of 1789 and the ECHR, enforced through ordinary courtsFundamental rights flow from the 1789 Declaration, the 1946 preamble and the ECHR, which France ratified in 1974 and made individually enforceable in 1981. Ordinary and administrative courts apply the Convention directly.
- Property & LandNotarised transfers on a French-tradition register, open to foreign buyersSales of real estate are executed by a notaire and published at the service de publicité foncière; there are no nationality restrictions on buying. Notaire fees and transfer duties add substantially to the price.
- Family LawMarriage, PACS and no-fault divorce by mutual consent before a notaireFrance offers marriage (including same-sex since 2013) and the PACS civil partnership. Divorce by mutual consent has since 2017 been finalised by lawyers and registered by a notaire, without a judge.
- Business & CorporateSARL and SAS incorporation through the guichet uniqueThe flexible SAS and the classic SARL are the main company forms, both without meaningful minimum capital. Since 2023 all business formalities pass through a single online window run by INPI.
- Immigration & NationalityThe CESEDA code, the talent passport and prefecture residence permitsImmigration is governed by the CESEDA. EU citizens move freely; others need a long-stay visa and a titre de séjour, with a multi-year passeport talent for skilled workers, investors and researchers.
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