Short definitions of the terms, acronyms and authorities of financial and crypto regulation, AI and data centres, corporate law, tax and disputes, with a link to the relevant page.
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Procedure allowing the French tax authorities to disregard a sham transaction or an arrangement whose purpose is exclusively tax-driven (Tax Procedures Code, art. L. 64) or, for transactions since 2020, mainly tax-driven (art. L. 64 A). Abuse under art. L. 64 carries an 80% penalty, reduced to 40% where the taxpayer neither initiated nor mainly benefited from it.
Tax structuring → See also : Tax ruling, Tax audit
Decision taken by majority shareholders against the company’s interest and solely to favour the majority at the expense of the minority. French courts can annul the resolution and award damages; abuse of minority, which blocks a decision essential to the company, is also sanctioned.
Shareholder disputes → See also : Shareholders’ agreement
Authority attached to the Banque de France that authorises and supervises banks, insurers, investment firms, payment institutions and electronic money institutions. It oversees their financial soundness, customer protection and compliance with AML/CFT obligations (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 612-1).
ACPR authorisation → See also : AMF, Payment institution, EMI, Investment firm, AML/CFT
Challenge against an arbitral award made in France, available on limited grounds: lack of jurisdiction, irregular constitution of the tribunal, failure to comply with its mandate, with due process or with public policy (French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 1492 and 1520). The court does not review the merits.
Annulment of awards and exequatur → See also : Arbitral award, Exequatur, Arbitration
EU regulation that classifies AI systems by level of risk: prohibited practices, high-risk systems subject to conformity requirements, transparency obligations and specific rules for general-purpose AI models. In force since 1 August 2024, it applies in stages; Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (digital omnibus) postponed high-risk obligations to 2 December 2027, and to 2 August 2028 for systems built into regulated products.
AI law and the AI Act → See also : High-risk AI system, General-purpose AI model, Provider and deployer (AI)
Very large computing facility, in the order of 100,000 advanced AI chips, that the EU plans to co-fund with private partners through the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the InvestAI initiative announced in February 2025. Applications bring together project developers, Member States and investors.
See also : Data centre, AI Act
Fund that raises capital from investors to invest it in accordance with a defined policy and that is not a UCITS: private equity, real estate or debt funds, for example. Its manager is subject to the AIFM Directive (2011/61/EU), amended by Directive (EU) 2024/927 (AIFMD II).
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : Asset management company, UCITS, Private equity
Independent public authority that regulates French financial markets, protects investors and supervises, among others, asset managers, investment advisers and crypto-asset service providers. It authorises asset management companies and CASPs; its Enforcement Committee rules on breaches (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 621-1).
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : ACPR, ESMA, Enforcement Committee, Asset management company, CASP
Set of obligations imposed on banks, payment providers, CASPs, legal professions and other obliged entities to detect and report suspicious flows: customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reports to Tracfin, asset freezing. In France the framework sits in art. L. 561-1 et seq. of the Monetary and Financial Code and, from 2027, in the AMLR.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : KYC, Tracfin, AMLR, Beneficial owner, Travel rule
EU authority established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 and based in Frankfurt. It coordinates national AML/CFT supervisors and, from 2028, will directly supervise certain high-risk cross-border financial institutions, including crypto-asset service providers.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : AMLR, AML/CFT, CASP
EU regulation that sets, directly in every Member State, the due diligence obligations of obliged entities: identification of customers and beneficial owners, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting. It applies from 10 July 2027 and replaces most of the rules derived from the AML directives.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : AMLA, AML/CFT, KYC, Beneficial owner
Independent administrative authority that has regulated gambling in France since 2020. It licenses online gaming operators, oversees player protection and anti-money laundering, and can impose sanctions (Law No 2010-476 of 12 May 2010).
Gambling law → See also : ANJ licence, Authorisation, Enforcement Committee
Authorisation granted by the ANJ, for five renewable years, to operators of online sports betting, horse-race betting or poker. These are the only online gambling activities open to competition in France; the operator must demonstrate its integrity, technical resources and responsible gambling policy.
Online gaming licence → See also : ANJ, Authorisation
Decision of the arbitral tribunal that resolves the dispute. It has res judicata effect as soon as it is made but can only be enforced after exequatur; an award made in France can be challenged by an action to set aside before the court of appeal of the seat.
Annulment of awards and exequatur → See also : Arbitration, Exequatur, Action to set aside
Dispute resolution method by which the parties submit their dispute to one or more private arbitrators of their choice instead of the state courts. It rests on an arbitration agreement and leads to an award that has res judicata effect (French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 1442 et seq.).
National and international arbitration → See also : Arbitral award, ICC arbitration, ICSID, Action to set aside
Crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by referencing another value, a right or a combination of assets, including several official currencies. Offering it to the public in the EU requires authorisation from the competent authority (MiCA, Title III), except for credit institutions, which follow a notification procedure.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : Stablecoin, EMT, MiCA
Company authorised by the AMF to manage funds (UCITS, AIFs) or individual portfolios on behalf of third parties. Authorisation covers a business plan, staff and technical resources, own funds and managers (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 532-9).
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : AMF, AIF, UCITS, Private equity
Natural person who ultimately controls a company or entity, by holding directly or indirectly more than 25% of the capital or voting rights, or by any other means. Companies must declare their beneficial owners to the beneficial ownership register and obliged entities must identify them (Monetary and Financial Code, art. R. 561-1).
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : KYC, AML/CFT
BEPS refers to the OECD work against base erosion and profit shifting. Its Pillar Two sets a 15% global minimum tax for groups with consolidated revenue of at least €750 million, implemented in the EU by Directive (EU) 2022/2523 and applied in France since 2024.
International tax and transfer pricing → See also : Transfer pricing, Corporate income tax
Distributed ledger in which transactions are grouped into blocks linked to one another by cryptographic means, making their history verifiable by all participants. French law calls it a shared electronic registration device (DEEP) when it is used to record financial securities.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : DLT, Smart contract, DEEP
Financing instrument modelled on the US SAFE: the investor pays the funds up front and receives shares at a later funding round, at a discounted or capped price. It avoids setting a valuation at seed stage.
Fundraising → See also : Venture capital, Term sheet
Warrants granted to employees and managers of certain joint-stock companies, notably start-ups, giving the right to subscribe shares at a price set on grant. The gain benefits from a favourable tax regime, subject to conditions (French Tax Code, art. 163 bis G).
Management packages, warrants and free shares → See also : Management package, Free shares, Venture capital
Structure in which a developer or investor builds a data centre to the specifications of a given tenant, who commits to a long-term lease. The contract combines the lease, technical specifications, delivery schedule and allocation of construction risk.
See also : Colocation (data centre), Data centre
Set of movable assets (customers, trade name, lease rights, equipment) that a trader uses for its business. Its sale follows specific formalities: written deed, legal publication, registration duties and a period during which creditors may object to payment of the price (Commercial Code, art. L. 141-5 et seq.).
Business transfer → See also : Transfer of shares (SARL)
OECD standard for the automatic exchange of tax information on crypto-asset transactions between countries, modelled on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for financial accounts. In the EU, DAC8 implements it.
Tax counsel for companies and individuals → See also : DAC8
Share of a private equity fund’s gains allocated to its management team over and above its share of the investment, once performance exceeds a hurdle. In France, it can be taxed as a capital gain rather than as salary if the statutory conditions are met (minimum investment, holding period).
Management packages, warrants and free shares → See also : Private equity, Management package
Legal person authorised under MiCA to provide one or more crypto-asset services: custody, operating a trading platform, exchange, order execution, advice, portfolio management, transfer services. In France, authorisation is granted by the AMF and gives access to the EU passport.
CASP licence under MiCA → See also : MiCA, PSAN, EU passport, Travel rule, AMF
Agreement offered by the public prosecutor to a legal entity suspected of offences such as corruption, influence peddling or tax fraud: it pays a public interest fine capped at 30% of its average annual revenue and may be required to follow a compliance programme, without a finding of guilt (Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 41-1-2).
Internal investigations → See also : Internal investigation, Whistleblower
Legal action brought by an association or qualified entity to stop a breach or obtain compensation for harm suffered by several people in a similar situation against the same business. The French law of 30 April 2025 unified its regime, which had previously been split by sector.
Commercial litigation → See also : Summary proceedings
Contract under which a data centre operator provides a client with space (racks, cages, halls), power, cooling and connectivity, while the client keeps ownership of its servers. Key points are service levels, reserved power, liability and exit terms.
See also : Build-to-suit, Data centre
Mechanism by which a shareholder contributes their shares to a holding company they control, which defers tax on the gain. If the holding company sells the contributed shares within the statutory period, the deferral is kept only if it reinvests a minimum share of the price in an eligible business activity.
Tax structuring → See also : Holding company, Exit tax
Tax on the profits of companies (SA, SAS, SARL, etc.) and of entities that elect for it. The standard rate is 25%, with a reduced 15% rate on the portion of an eligible SME’s profit up to €42,500 (French Tax Code, art. 219).
Corporate tax → See also : Tax consolidation, Parent-subsidiary regime, Transfer pricing
Provider of ICT services (cloud, data centres, software) designated by the European Supervisory Authorities as critical to the financial sector, given the number and importance of the entities that rely on it. It is subject to direct EU oversight under DORA (art. 31).
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : DORA, Data centre
Digital representation of a value or a right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology (MiCA, art. 3). MiCA distinguishes e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens and other crypto-assets, including utility tokens.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : MiCA, EMT, ART, Utility token, DLT
Tax regime for gains made occasionally by individuals on crypto-assets in France: only disposals for fiat currency, goods or services are taxable, while crypto-to-crypto exchanges are tax-neutral. The gain is calculated at portfolio level and reported on form 2086.
Tax counsel for companies and individuals → See also : Form 2086, Form 3916-bis, DAC8
Mandatory disclosure document before a crypto-asset is offered to the public or admitted to trading in the EU, covering the issuer, the project, the rights attached, the technology and the risks. For crypto-assets other than e-money and asset-referenced tokens, it is notified to the competent authority without prior approval (MiCA, art. 6 and 8).
MiCA white paper → See also : MiCA, Utility token, Prospectus
EU directive requiring crypto-asset service providers to collect information on their clients and transactions and report it to the tax authorities, which exchange it with other Member States. It has applied since 1 January 2026: the first reports cover 2026 transactions.
Tax counsel for companies and individuals → See also : CARF, CASP, Form 3916-bis
Building or group of buildings housing servers, storage and network equipment, together with the power supply, cooling and security they require. Setting one up in France involves planning law, environmental rules (ICPE), grid connection and, from 500 kW of IT power, EU energy reporting obligations.
See also : ICPE, Grid connection, PPA, Energy Efficiency Directive (data centres), PINM
Term used in French law for a blockchain used to record financial securities. Since the Order of 8 December 2017, securities not admitted to a central securities depository (unlisted shares, fund units, negotiable debt securities) can be issued and transferred on a DEEP (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 211-3).
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : Blockchain, Tokenisation, Security token
Financial services (lending, exchange, yield on crypto-assets) provided by smart contracts on a blockchain, without an identifiable intermediary. MiCA does not cover services provided in a fully decentralised manner (recital 22), but a party that keeps control over the protocol or the interface may fall within the regulation.
DeFi: qualification and compliance → See also : Smart contract, CASP, MiCA
Technology that maintains a ledger shared among several participants, updated by consensus and hard to alter after the fact. Blockchain is its most common form. EU law relies on it to define crypto-assets (MiCA) and the market infrastructures of the DLT Pilot Regime.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : Blockchain, DLT Pilot Regime, Crypto-asset
EU sandbox regime, applicable since 23 March 2023, that allows DLT-based market infrastructures to trade and settle tokenised financial instruments with temporary exemptions from certain rules (Regulation (EU) 2022/858). It creates three types of infrastructure, DLT MTF, DLT SS and DLT TSS, subject to size thresholds.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : Tokenisation, Security token, DLT
EU regulation, applicable since 17 January 2025, that requires financial entities (banks, insurers, investment firms, payment institutions, CASPs, etc.) to manage ICT risk: governance, reporting of major incidents, resilience testing and oversight of ICT third-party service providers.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : Critical ICT third-party service provider, ACPR, CASP
Clauses in a shareholders’ agreement. A drag-along requires minority shareholders to sell their shares when a buyer offers to acquire a defined share of the capital; a tag-along allows minority shareholders to sell their shares on the same terms as the selling shareholder.
Shareholders’ agreements → See also : Shareholders’ agreement, Private equity
Review of a target company before an acquisition or investment, covering legal, tax, financial, employment and regulatory matters. It identifies risks, informs the price and frames the warranties negotiated in the purchase agreement.
Mergers and acquisitions → See also : M&A, Warranty and indemnity (GAP), Term sheet
Regime that partly exempts from gift or inheritance tax the shares of a company carrying on an operating business, in return for a collective and then individual commitment to keep the shares and for one of the signatories to continue running the company (French Tax Code, art. 787 B).
Wealth management and succession → See also : Holding company, Contribution and sale
Part of the purchase price paid later, depending on the future results of the company sold (revenue, EBITDA, etc.). It bridges valuation gaps between seller and buyer, provided the metrics and the way the company is run during the earn-out period are precisely defined.
Mergers and acquisitions → See also : Warranty and indemnity (GAP), M&A
EU authority responsible for harmonising banking regulation and supervision. It drafts the technical standards that apply to banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions, and supervises issuers of significant e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens under MiCA (Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010).
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : ESMA, ACPR, EMT, ART
Platform authorised to match project owners with investors, through loans or securities, under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503. In France, authorisation is granted by the AMF and gives access to the EU passport.
Crowdfunding service provider authorisation → See also : EU passport, Authorisation, AMF
Firm authorised to issue electronic money, meaning monetary value stored electronically in exchange for funds, and to provide payment services. In France, authorisation is granted by the ACPR (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 526-1 et seq.); under MiCA, an EMI may issue e-money tokens.
ACPR authorisation → See also : Payment institution, EMT, ACPR, PSD3 and PSR
Crypto-asset that aims to maintain a stable value by referencing the value of a single official currency, such as the euro or the dollar. Under MiCA (Title IV), only credit institutions and electronic money institutions may issue them, and holders can redeem them at any time at par value.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : Stablecoin, ART, EMI, MiCA
Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires operators of data centres with at least 500 kW of installed IT power to report energy and environmental performance indicators every year (consumption, PUE, water, heat reuse) to a European database (art. 12 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364).
See also : Data centre, PUE
Body of the AMF, with an equivalent at the ACPR, that rules on breaches after an investigation or inspection followed by a statement of objections. At the AMF, fines can reach €100 million or ten times the profit made (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 621-15); its decisions can be appealed to the Conseil d’État or the Paris Court of Appeal.
Defence before the AMF, ACPR and ANJ → See also : AMF, ACPR, Market abuse
EU authority that coordinates the supervision of financial markets carried out by national authorities such as the AMF. It issues guidelines and drafts technical standards, notably under MiFID II and MiCA, and directly supervises some entities such as credit rating agencies (Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010).
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : AMF, MiCA, MiFID II, EBA
Mechanism that allows a firm authorised in one Member State to provide its services in the other Member States, cross-border or through a branch, after a simple notification to its home authority. It exists for banks, investment firms, payment and e-money institutions, CASPs under MiCA and crowdfunding service providers, among others.
Regulatory counsel for regulated industries → See also : Reverse solicitation, Authorisation, MiFID II, CASP
Decision of a state court that makes an arbitral award, or a judgment given outside the EU, enforceable in its territory. In France, it is granted by the judicial court after a limited review; for arbitral awards, the 1958 New York Convention harmonises the conditions in more than 170 states.
Annulment of awards and exequatur → See also : Arbitral award, Action to set aside
Tax on unrealised gains on certain shareholdings when a taxpayer moves their tax residence out of France after living there for at least six of the previous ten years. It applies to holdings of at least 50% in a company or worth more than €800,000 in total, with deferral of payment depending on the destination country (French Tax Code, art. 167 bis).
Wealth management and succession → See also : Flat tax (PFU), Contribution and sale
Prior authorisation from the French Minister for the Economy required for certain foreign investments in sensitive activities (defence, energy, health, data, critical technologies, etc.) that lead to control of a French entity or to crossing certain voting-rights thresholds (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 151-3 and R. 151-1 et seq.). A commitment made without authorisation is void.
Mergers and acquisitions → See also : M&A, Data centre, Joint venture
Legal category covering transferable securities (shares, bonds, fund units) and financial contracts (derivatives), listed in Annex I, Section C of MiFID II. An asset that qualifies as a financial instrument, including in token form, falls under financial services law rather than MiCA.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : MiFID II, Security token, Crypto-asset, Prospectus
Default method of taxing individuals’ investment income in France (dividends, interest, capital gains on securities), combining a flat income tax rate with social contributions. Taxpayers can instead opt for the progressive scale for all such income of the year (French Tax Code, art. 200 A).
Wealth management and succession → See also : Exit tax, Crypto-asset capital gains
Schedule to the French income tax return on which individuals calculate their capital gains on crypto-asset disposals for the year, using the total portfolio acquisition cost method. The result is carried over to supplementary return 2042 C (French Tax Code, art. 150 VH bis).
Tax counsel for companies and individuals → See also : Crypto-asset capital gains, Form 3916-bis
Annual return, filed with the French income tax return, of digital asset accounts opened, held, used or closed with providers established abroad (French Tax Code, art. 1649 bis C). Form 3916 plays the same role for bank accounts; failure to file is penalised by a fine per account.
Tax counsel for companies and individuals → See also : Crypto-asset capital gains, Form 2086, DAC8
Conduct by which a business follows in another’s wake to take advantage, without paying for it, of its investments, know-how or reputation. Under French law it is sanctioned even where the two businesses are not competitors.
Unfair competition and trade secrets → See also : Unfair competition, Trade secret
AI model trained on large amounts of data and able to perform a wide range of tasks, such as large language models. Since 2 August 2025, providers must keep technical documentation, publish a summary of the training data and adopt a copyright compliance policy; stricter obligations apply to models with systemic risk (AI Act, art. 53 and 55).
AI law and the AI Act → See also : AI Act, Provider and deployer (AI)
Connection of a facility to the public electricity grid, requested from the network operator: RTE for transmission, Enedis or a local company for distribution. For a high-power data centre, the timing and cost of the grid connection often set the project timetable more than planning permits do.
See also : Data centre, PPA, PINM
AI system used in a sensitive area listed by the AI Act (recruitment, access to credit, education, critical infrastructure, etc.) or built into a product covered by EU safety legislation. Its provider must, among other things, manage risks, keep technical documentation, ensure human oversight and carry out a conformity assessment before placing it on the market (AI Act, art. 6 and Annex III).
AI law and the AI Act → See also : AI Act, Provider and deployer (AI)
Company whose main purpose is to hold shares in other companies. It can be passive (mere holding) or active (taking part in running the group’s policy), a distinction that matters for tax. It is used to structure a group, finance an acquisition or organise a succession.
Holding company structuring → See also : LBO, Parent-subsidiary regime, Tax consolidation, Contribution and sale
Arbitral institution based in Paris that administers international commercial arbitrations under its rules: constitution of the tribunal, case management and scrutiny of draft awards. Together with the LCIA in London, it is one of the institutions most often chosen for international business disputes.
International arbitration: ICC, LCIA, ICSID → See also : Arbitration, ICSID, Arbitral award
Facility whose operation creates risks or nuisances for the environment and which, depending on its size, requires a declaration, registration or authorisation from the prefect (Environmental Code, art. L. 511-1). For a data centre, classification is mainly triggered by backup generators and cooling installations.
See also : Data centre, PINM
World Bank Group institution, created by the 1965 Washington Convention, that administers arbitrations between foreign investors and host states, usually under an investment treaty. Its awards can only be challenged through ICSID’s own annulment procedure, not before national courts.
International arbitration: ICC, LCIA, ICSID → See also : Arbitration, ICC arbitration
Offence committed by a person who holds inside information (precise, non-public and likely to affect the price) and uses it to buy or sell the financial instruments concerned, or discloses it outside the normal course of their duties. In France it is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a €100 million fine, which can be raised to ten times the profit made (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 465-1 and L. 465-3).
Defence before the AMF, ACPR and ANJ → See also : Market abuse, Enforcement Committee
Investigation carried out by a company, often with its lawyers, to establish reported facts (fraud, corruption, harassment, regulatory breach) and decide on next steps. It must respect the rights of the people involved and data collection rules; its findings may pave the way for cooperation with the authorities.
Internal investigations → See also : Whistleblower, CJIP
Firm or credit institution authorised to provide investment services within the meaning of MiFID II. In France, investment firms are authorised by the ACPR, after the AMF has approved their business plan for the services within its remit (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 531-1 and L. 532-1).
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : MiFID II, Asset management company, ACPR, AMF
Joint project run by two or more independent companies, either by contract or through a jointly controlled company. The agreement that governs it covers governance, contributions, deadlock and exit; setting it up may require merger control clearance.
Joint ventures → See also : Shareholders’ agreement, M&A, FDI screening in France
Process by which an obliged entity identifies its customer, verifies their identity on documents, identifies the beneficial owner and gathers information on the purpose of the business relationship. It is a precondition to onboarding and must be kept up to date throughout the relationship (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 561-5 et seq.).
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : AML/CFT, Beneficial owner, AMLR
Acquisition of a target company by a holding company that finances the purchase partly with debt, repaid from dividends paid up by the target. The structure often involves a private equity fund, the managers (management package) and, where possible, tax consolidation between the holding company and the target.
LBO: leveraged acquisitions → See also : Holding company, Private equity, Management package, Tax consolidation
Transactions by which a company acquires control of, or combines with, another: share or asset purchases, mergers, contributions. A typical deal involves a letter of intent, due diligence, a purchase agreement with warranties and, depending on the sector, clearances (merger control, foreign investment, financial regulators).
Mergers and acquisitions → See also : Due diligence, Warranty and indemnity (GAP), Earn-out, FDI screening in France
Set of instruments that give managers a share in the value they create, especially in LBOs: ordinary or preferred shares, warrants, BSPCE, free shares. Since the 2025 Finance Law, the part of the gain that exceeds a multiple of the company’s financial performance is taxed as employment income (French Tax Code, art. 163 bis H).
Management packages, warrants and free shares → See also : BSPCE, Free shares, Carried interest, LBO
Conduct that undermines market integrity: insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation. In France it is prosecuted either as an administrative breach before the AMF (Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, MAR) or as a criminal offence (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 465-1 et seq.), after consultation between the AMF and the national financial prosecutor.
Defence before the AMF, ACPR and ANJ → See also : Insider dealing, Enforcement Committee, AMF
Transaction by which one or more companies transfer all their assets and liabilities to an existing or new company and cease to exist without liquidation, their shareholders receiving shares in the receiving company (Commercial Code, art. L. 236-1). It may benefit from a favourable tax regime.
Mergers, demergers and reorganisations → See also : Partial asset contribution, M&A
EU regulation governing the issuance and public offering of crypto-assets and crypto-asset services. Its rules on e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens have applied since 30 June 2024, the rest since 30 December 2024. Crypto-assets that qualify as financial instruments are outside its scope.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : Crypto-asset, CASP, EMT, ART, Crypto-asset white paper
EU directive governing investment services (reception, transmission and execution of orders, portfolio management, advice) and trading venues. It sets the authorisation requirements for investment firms, their conduct-of-business rules and the EU passport; Regulation No 600/2014 (MiFIR) complements it.
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : Investment firm, Financial instrument, EU passport, ESMA
Unique, non-interchangeable token that represents, for example, a digital artwork or a collectible. MiCA does not apply to crypto-assets that are unique and non-fungible; issuance in a large series or in fractions may, however, be treated as fungible (recital 11).
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : Crypto-asset, MiCA
Regime that exempts from corporate tax the dividends received by a company holding at least 5% of a subsidiary’s capital, provided the shares are held for two years and a 5% share of costs and expenses is added back (French Tax Code, art. 145 and 216).
Corporate tax → See also : Corporate income tax, Tax consolidation, Holding company
Transaction by which a company contributes a line of business to another company in exchange for shares, without ceasing to exist. When placed under the demerger regime, it transfers the business with its contracts, employees and debts, and may benefit from the favourable tax regime.
Mergers, demergers and reorganisations → See also : Merger, Holding company
Firm authorised to provide payment services (credit transfers and direct debits, issuing payment instruments, acquiring, payment initiation) without being a bank. In France, authorisation is granted by the ACPR; the regime derives from PSD2 (Monetary and Financial Code, art. L. 522-1 et seq.).
ACPR authorisation → See also : EMI, PSD2, ACPR
Status created by the French Green Industry Law of 23 October 2023 (Planning Code, art. L. 300-6-2): the State recognises by decree an industrial project of particular importance for sovereignty or the ecological transition. The status eases changes to local planning documents and allows recognition of an overriding public interest; the law on simplifying economic life extends it to certain data centres.
See also : Data centre, ICPE, Grid connection
Contract under which a consumer buys electricity directly from a producer, often for ten years or more, from a specific and frequently renewable facility. For a data centre, it secures the price and origin of the power; it can be physical (delivery of electricity) or financial (settlement of a price difference).
See also : Data centre, Grid connection
Equity investment in unlisted companies, usually through funds run by authorised asset managers. It covers venture capital, growth capital, buy-outs (LBOs) and turnaround; investors usually plan their exit within a few years.
Private equity → See also : Venture capital, LBO, AIF, Carried interest
Mandatory disclosure document, approved by the competent authority (the AMF in France), that describes the issuer and the securities for a public offer or an admission to trading on a regulated market. Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 sets its content and the exemptions, for example below a certain amount or for offers made only to qualified investors.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : STO, Financial instrument, Crypto-asset white paper
The two main roles defined by the AI Act. The provider develops an AI system or model and places it on the market under its own name; the deployer uses it under its own authority in a professional context. The heaviest obligations fall on the provider, but deployers of high-risk systems have their own (art. 3 and 26).
AI law and the AI Act → See also : AI Act, High-risk AI system, General-purpose AI model
French status created by the 2019 PACTE Law for digital asset service providers registered (and sometimes licensed) with the AMF. Under MiCA, PSANs registered before 30 December 2024 could continue operating until 1 July 2026 at the latest; they now need CASP authorisation.
CASP licence under MiCA → See also : CASP, MiCA, AMF
EU directive governing payment services and their providers: authorisation of payment institutions, strong customer authentication and third-party access to payment accounts (open banking). It is being replaced by the PSD3 and PSR reform.
ACPR authorisation → See also : PSD3 and PSR, Payment institution, EMI
EU payments reform set to replace PSD2: a directive (PSD3) for the authorisation and supervision of providers, and a directly applicable regulation (PSR) for conduct rules, fraud prevention and account access. It also merges the e-money institution regime into the payment institution regime.
ACPR authorisation → See also : PSD2, Payment institution, EMI
Ratio between the total energy used by a data centre and the energy used by its IT equipment alone. The closer it is to 1, the less the facility uses for cooling and ancillary equipment; it is one of the indicators to report under the Energy Efficiency Directive.
See also : Energy Efficiency Directive (data centres), Data centre
Document by which the French tax authorities inform the taxpayer of the adjustments they intend to make and their grounds, at the end of an audit. The taxpayer has thirty days, extendable by thirty days on request, to respond (Tax Procedures Code, art. L. 57).
Tax disputes: audits and reassessments → See also : Tax audit, Abuse of law (tax)
Exemption that allows a third-country firm to provide a service to a client established in the EU without EU authorisation, where the client initiated the service on its own exclusive initiative. It is read narrowly: under MiCA (art. 61), it covers neither the marketing of new services nor any solicitation, even indirect.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : EU passport, CASP, MiCA
Assets from the real economy or traditional finance (real estate, bonds, money market funds, receivables, commodities) represented by tokens on a blockchain. The applicable regime depends on how the token qualifies: financial instrument, crypto-asset under MiCA or another type of right.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : Tokenisation, Security token, Financial instrument
Company whose members, up to one hundred, are liable for its debts only up to their contributions. Its operation is more closely regulated by law than an SAS, and its shares can only be transferred to third parties with the approval of the members (Commercial Code, art. L. 223-1 et seq.).
Company formation → See also : SAS, Transfer of shares (SARL)
Company form widely used for start-ups and subsidiaries in France, because its articles can freely organise governance and shareholder rights. It must have a president and cannot, save for exceptions, offer its shares to the public (Commercial Code, art. L. 227-1 et seq.).
Company formation → See also : SARL, Shareholders’ agreement, Holding company
Qualification scheme of ANSSI, the French cybersecurity agency, for cloud service providers. It combines security requirements with criteria protecting against extraterritorial laws (registered office and data in the EU, limits on non-European shareholding) and serves as the benchmark for the trusted cloud required for certain sensitive data.
See also : Data centre, Critical ICT third-party service provider
Token that represents a financial instrument, such as a share or a bond recorded on a blockchain. Its issuance and distribution are governed by financial services law (prospectus, MiFID II), not by MiCA.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : STO, Financial instrument, Tokenisation
Program deployed on a blockchain that automatically executes operations when predefined conditions are met. It is not a contract in the legal sense as such: it can be used to perform an agreement, whose terms, liability and governing law still need to be set out separately.
DeFi: qualification and compliance → See also : DeFi, Blockchain
Common term for a crypto-asset designed to keep a stable value against a currency or a basket of assets. MiCA does not use it: depending on what it references, a stablecoin is an e-money token (EMT) or an asset-referenced token (ART), each with its own issuance, reserve and redemption rules.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : EMT, ART, MiCA
Locking up crypto-assets to take part in validating transactions on a proof-of-stake blockchain, in return for rewards. When a provider offers it on behalf of clients, it may involve services regulated by MiCA, such as custody.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : CASP, Wallet, Crypto-asset
Fundraising through the issuance of security tokens to investors. It follows the rules for securities offerings: prospectus or exemption, MiFID II distribution rules and, for unlisted French securities, possible registration in a DEEP.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : Security token, Prospectus, DEEP
Fast-track procedure before the summary judge to obtain an interim measure in urgent cases, stop a manifestly unlawful disturbance or obtain an interim payment where the obligation is not seriously disputable (French Code of Civil Procedure, art. 834, 835, 872 and 873). The decision does not settle the merits.
Commercial litigation → See also : Unfair competition
On-site review by the French tax authorities of a business’s tax returns against its accounts. It is announced by an audit notice, limited in principle to three months for small businesses and may result in a reassessment notice (Tax Procedures Code, art. L. 13 and L. 52).
Tax disputes: audits and reassessments → See also : Reassessment notice, Abuse of law (tax)
Regime under which a parent company holding at least 95% of subsidiaries subject to corporate tax pays that tax on the group’s overall result, offsetting profits and losses (French Tax Code, art. 223 A et seq.). It is often used in LBOs to offset the holding company’s financing costs against the target’s profits.
Corporate tax → See also : Corporate income tax, Parent-subsidiary regime, LBO, Holding company
Formal position taken by the French tax authorities, at a taxpayer’s request, on how a rule applies to their situation. It binds the authorities: they cannot challenge it for the past if the situation was accurately described and has not changed (Tax Procedures Code, art. L. 80 B).
Tax structuring → See also : Abuse of law (tax)
Document summarising the main terms of a fundraising or an acquisition (valuation, amount, governance, investor rights, conditions precedent) before the final agreements are drafted. It is usually non-binding, except for clauses such as exclusivity or confidentiality.
Fundraising → See also : Venture capital, BSA AIR, Due diligence
Representation of an asset or a right (security, fund unit, real estate, receivable) as a token recorded on a blockchain. The token follows the legal regime of what it represents: a tokenised security remains a financial instrument subject to financial services law, not MiCA.
Real-world asset tokenisation → See also : RWA, Security token, DEEP, DLT Pilot Regime
French financial intelligence unit, attached to the economy and finance ministries, that receives and analyses suspicious transaction reports from obliged entities. It can pass information to the public prosecutor, the tax authorities and its foreign counterparts.
Financial law: AMF and ACPR → See also : AML/CFT, KYC
Information known to a limited number of people, which has commercial value because it is secret and is subject to reasonable protection measures (French Commercial Code, art. L. 151-1). Its unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure gives rise to civil liability.
Unfair competition and trade secrets → See also : Unfair competition, Free-riding, Internal investigation
Prices charged between companies of the same group located in different countries (sales, services, royalties, financing). They must match those that independent parties would agree (arm’s length principle); otherwise the tax authorities can reinstate the profits shifted abroad (French Tax Code, art. 57).
International tax and transfer pricing → See also : BEPS and Pillar Two, Corporate income tax
Obligation for crypto-asset service providers to send, with each transfer, information on the originator and the beneficiary, as with a bank transfer. It has applied in the EU since 30 December 2024, with no minimum amount, and requires checks on transfers from or to self-hosted wallets (Regulation (EU) 2023/1113).
CASP licence under MiCA → See also : AML/CFT, CASP, Wallet
Fund open to the public that invests in liquid financial instruments under diversification rules harmonised by Directive 2009/65/EC. Once authorised in one Member State, it can be marketed throughout the EU under the passport.
AMF authorisations: investment firms and asset managers → See also : AIF, Asset management company, EU passport
Wrongful conduct in the course of competition, sanctioned under French tort law (Civil Code, art. 1240). Case law distinguishes several forms: disparagement, confusion, disruption of a competitor and free-riding (parasitisme).
Unfair competition and trade secrets → See also : Free-riding, Trade secret, Summary proceedings
Crypto-asset only intended to provide access to a good or service supplied by its issuer (MiCA, art. 3). Its public offering falls under Title II of MiCA, with a white paper notified to the authority; some offers are exempt, in particular where the good or service already exists.
MiCA white paper → See also : Crypto-asset, Crypto-asset white paper, MiCA
Branch of private equity that funds high-growth start-ups in exchange for a minority stake. Successive rounds (seed, Series A, B, etc.) come with a term sheet, a shareholders’ agreement and often preferred shares.
Venture capital → See also : Private equity, Term sheet, BSA AIR, Shareholders’ agreement
Procedure by which the shareholders bring a solvent company to an end: dissolution opens the liquidation, during which a liquidator sells the assets, pays the debts and distributes the surplus to the shareholders before deregistration. It differs from judicial liquidation, which applies to insolvent businesses.
Dissolution and liquidation → See also : SAS, SARL
Software or hardware tool that holds the cryptographic keys used to hold and transfer crypto-assets. A wallet managed by a provider for its clients is a custody service under MiCA; a self-hosted wallet, controlled only by its user, is not a regulated service.
Crypto-assets and MiCA → See also : CASP, Travel rule, Blockchain
Seller’s undertaking to compensate the buyer, or the company sold, if a liability arising before completion comes to light afterwards, or if a declared asset turns out not to exist. It is framed by a trigger threshold, a deductible, a cap and a duration, and often secured by an escrow or a bank guarantee.
Mergers and acquisitions → See also : Due diligence, Earn-out, M&A
Natural person who reports or discloses, without direct financial consideration and in good faith, information about a crime, an offence or a breach of the law. Under French law they are protected against retaliation, and companies with at least fifty employees must have an internal reporting procedure (Law No 2016-1691, known as Sapin II, amended on 21 March 2022).
Internal investigations → See also : Internal investigation, CJIP
General information as of the date of the last update. It does not replace advice on a specific situation.