FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sylvain Clavé and Germain Chaux, Clavé Avocat
This law forces industry participants to strictly monitor their digital marketing strategies, as influencers are now prohibited from promoting financial services or crypto-assets unless the underlying provider is duly registered or licensed as a competent regulated player (such as a PSAN/DASP). 2.12 Review of Industry Participants by Parties Other Than Regulators In France, the activities of industry participants are routinely reviewed by third parties in addition to regu - lators. As a matter of corporate law, the appointment of a statutory auditor ( commissaire aux comptes ) is mandatory for all sociétés anonymes and, once cer - tain size thresholds are met, for sociétés par actions simplifiées (EUR10 million in turnover, EUR5 million in balance sheet total, or 50 employees). Furthermore, any entity engaging in regulated financial activities must engage a certified accounting firm to ensure the integrity of its financial reporting. For regulated financial institutions, external review is layered on top of stringent internal control require - ments. To obtain and maintain their licences, firms must implement a robust compliance and risk-man - agement framework, including permanent control, periodic control and internal audit functions. These internal functions are complemented in practice by external advisers (audit firms, compliance consult - ants, IT and cybersecurity specialists) who perform independent reviews, testing and remediation work on internal policies, procedures and systems. A sig - nificant portion of the ongoing oversight of regulated entities is outsourced to such third-party profession - als, under the ultimate responsibility of the regulated firm. 2.13 Conjunction of Unregulated and Regulated Products and Services French regulated entities may offer non-regulated ser - vices alongside their authorised activities, provided they maintain strict structural and operational bound - aries. Credit institutions, for instance, can perform “ancillary operations” as long as these non-monopoly activities remain limited – typically under 10% of their net banking income – to avoid distorting competition.
Moreover, specific actors such as crowdfunding inter - mediaries are generally prohibited from engaging in activities outside their authorised scope (except as PSP agents). 2.14 Impact of AML and Sanctions Rules Regulated fintechs operate under the same stringent AML/CFT and sanctions framework as legacy players. This framework requires massive investment in cus - tomer due diligence, real-time transaction monitoring, and robust internal governance, with high regulatory expectations from the AMF and the ACPR. Further - more, considering the upcoming EU AML Package (including the direct application of the AMLR in July 2027), regulated actors must begin upgrading their compliance infrastructures immediately to align with new harmonised European standards. Consequently, compliance can be a significant structural barrier and a high “cost of entry” for smaller, under-resourced start-ups. Conversely, unregulated fintechs remain outside the formal scope of AML laws. 2.15 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards France has been a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since 1990 and is therefore bound by its standards on AML/CFT. In 2022, the FATF reviewed how effectively France combats money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as its level of compliance with FATF stand - ards. The evaluation found that France has a strong and sophisticated system in place, delivering solid results in several areas – particularly law enforcement efforts, asset confiscation and international co-opera - tion. However, the report also highlighted the need for stronger oversight of professionals involved in manag - ing legal entities and the real estate sector. France performs especially well in the use of finan - cial intelligence and in conducting money‑laundering investigations and prosecutions, with authorities giv - ing priority to complex, high‑value cases. Nonethe - less, despite increases in staffing, the shortage of spe - cialised investigative resources continues to prolong
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