FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe, Aaron Bass and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
and may impose certain sanctions in case of viola - tions, including fines. 7.2 Enforcement Bodies Criminal anti-corruption laws are usually enforced by specialised bodies, whether prosecutors, police ser - vices or criminal courts. In Paris, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office ( parquet national financier or PNF) has national juris - diction over serious economic and financial crimes including corruption, in all cases that appear highly complex with regards to the large number of perpetra - tors, accomplices or victims, or the geographical area over which they extend. Apart from the PNF, local specialised divisions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office handle corruption cases across French territory: either economic and financial divisions or interregional divisions specialising in most severe financial crimes (JIRS). Alternatively, investigations may be led by independ - ent investigating magistrates, specialised in economic and financial matters or in organised crime. Corruption-related investigations are generally entrusted to specialised services of the French Judi - cial Police Department: either national police depart - ments – ie, the Central Office for Combating Corrup - tion and Financial and Tax Offences (OCLCIFF) and its police units – or interregional police departments and units. On 5 June 2025, the creation of the Financial and Anti- Corruption Squad (BFAC) was announced, resulting from the merger of two emblematic services — the Financial Brigade (BF) and the Brigade for the Sup - pression of Corruption and Tax Fraud (BRCF). A “dig - ital evidence” unit, led by investigators specialising in cybercrime, will assist police officers in managing digital data and identifying crypto-assets. If the investigations lead to a trial, then these cases are heard by specialised judges in specialised cham - bers of the court. PNF’s investigations are referred to a specialised Chamber: the 32nd Criminal Division of the Paris Judicial Court.
The public prosecutor’s office also has sole authority to negotiate and sign deferred prosecution agreements. Once accepted by the legal entity, the agreement is submitted to the president of the court for approval during a public hearing before being published. Besides the enforcement of criminal anti-corruption laws, the French Anti-Corruption Agency has the pow - er to conduct administrative controls in companies and assess their implementation of the compliance requirements under the Sapin II Law. 7.3 Jurisdictional Reach of Enforcement Bodies As outlined in 3.2 Geographical Reach of Applica- ble Legislation , since 2016 and the enactment of the Spain II law, French anti-corruption law has extrater - ritorial jurisdiction over facts committed outside the French territory by persons of French nationality, per - sons who reside on the French territory or who carry out economic activity on the French territory. Therefore, enforcement bodies also have extraterrito - rial reach over facts committed outside the French territories, following the same conditions. The French PNF’s Office works closely with other European offices such as the Serious Fraud Office in the UK. 7.4 Discretion for Mitigation and Aggravation The public prosecutor has discretion to adjust the criminal response in bribery and influence-peddling cases, in particular through the CJIP and the assess - ment of mitigating or aggravating factors. This power is not unlimited: the judge remains responsible for reviewing the penalty when an agreement is signed or when a sentence is handed down. Several mitigating factors are recognised and cited in the joint PNF–AFA guidelines on the implementation of the CJIP: • spontaneous disclosure; • full co-operation with the authorities; • uniqueness of the occurrence; • implementation or strengthening of a compliance programme;
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