The control of foreign investments in France will be strengthened from January 1, 2024, in particular in listed companies, in French branches of foreign companies and in the raw materials extraction sector, according to a decree published on Friday in the Official Gazette. These controls were temporarily reinforced in certain strategic sectors after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its filtering governed by European regulations from October 2020. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, announced at the end of August the perpetuation or even the tightening of certain controls.
According to the decree published on Friday, control will be automatic when a non-European investor, “alone or in concert” with others, exceeds 10% of the capital of a French company “whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market” and operating in a strategic sector. The threshold to activate control for companies that are not listed on the stock exchange remains set at 25% of capital. To the list of sectors already affected (defence, cybersecurity, semiconductors or artificial intelligence) are added “the integrity, security or continuity of the extraction, transformation and recycling of critical raw materials”, but also “the security of penitentiary establishments “.
More than 300 foreign investments controlled in 2022
The controls also extend to capital investments in French branches of foreign companies “registered in the commercial and companies register.” Les investisseurs étrangers dans les entreprises françaises cotées sont “dispensés de la demande d’autorisation prévue sous réserve que le projet d’investissement ait fait l’objet d’une notification préalable au ministre charge de l’économie”, est-il précisé dans the decree.
In 2022, France controlled 325 foreign investments, according to the General Directorate of the Treasury. Of these operations, 194 were prohibited, 70 authorized under conditions and 61 validated without restriction.
Source: BFM TV
