• Treasury issued information on prior authorization process for foreign investments.
• Followed December 2018, FR GVT decree on authorized foreign investments.
• Followed PACTE law on business transformation and growth.

Overview

• PACTE law reformed prior authorization process, to preserve national strategic interest.
• Aims to better prevent or punish breaches, with new powers for Minister of Economy.
• Aims to protect future sectors, extended application to aerospace and civil protection.
• And to research and development activities in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, semiconductors and hosts of certain sensitive data.
• Also aims to simplify, so companies which are the subject of an investment project will also be able to ask a prior authorization, in conditions to be specified by decree.
• To increase transparency, statistics on foreign investment in France are now published.

Guidance

• Which transactions are subject to prior authorization, including conditions and sectors.
• Overview of processing applications for approval and what to include in application file.
• Risks of non-compliance, including police and sanctioning powers of the Minister.