FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sylvain Clavé and Germain Chaux, Clavé Avocat
practice in large-scale corporate banking) remains prohibited under French law.
assets are also regulated. While all platforms must adhere to fundamental transparency requirements and market abuse prohibitions, they differ significantly in their operational rules and the types of instruments they support. Regulated markets are authorised by government decree (following a proposal by the AMF) and man - aged by an entreprise de marché (market undertak - ing). In contrast, both MTFs and OTFs may be oper - ated by either a market undertaking or an ISP. French law also maintains the specific “Organised MTFs” status, which is subject to stricter regulatory standards than those found in EU regulation for MTFs. Unlike other venues, OTFs are prohibited from trad - ing shares. Their scope is restricted to specific asset classes, including debt securities, structured finance products, emission allowances, derivatives, and phys - ically settled wholesale energy products. 6.2 Regulation of Different Asset Classes Under French law, the regulatory regime depends on whether an asset is classified as a financial instrument (eg, shares, security tokens) or a crypto-asset. Financial instruments (MiFID II/MAR) can be listed on regulated markets and MTFs, while OTFs are restrict - ed to specific non-equity instruments. All are strictly subject to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), which prohibits insider dealing and market manipulation. Crypto-assets that do not qualify as financial instru - ments (eg, Bitcoin or e-money tokens such as USDC) fall under MiCAR and are subject to a dedicated regime for transparency and investor protection. MiC - AR includes its own market abuse framework, mirror - ing MAR’s principles. 6.3 Impact of the Emergence of Cryptocurrency Exchanges The emergence of cryptocurrency exchanges led to the creation of a specific regime for digital asset services providers ( Prestataires de services sur actifs numériques – PSANs) under the PACTE law, which is now superseded by MiCAR. Centralised platforms that target clients residing or established in France
5. Payment Processors 5.1 Payment Processors’ Use of Payment Rails In France, while traditional processors have histori - cally relied on existing interbank networks, the current landscape increasingly supports the development of alternative infrastructures. This allows fintech firms to design proprietary settlement layers that can offer higher speeds and lower costs, provided these new rails maintain the required levels of security, opera - tional resilience and interoperability with the broader financial ecosystem. An important shift has occurred with the integration of stablecoins under the MiCAR framework, which has established a legal path for payments using EMTs. These digital representations of fiat money are legally categorised as electronic money, allowing payment processors to build hybrid or native digital rails that bypass traditional correspondent banking bottle - necks and in theory automate complex payment flows through smart contracts. 5.2 Regulation of Cross-Border Payments and Remittances Cross-border payments and remittances remain strict - ly governed by the standard payment services frame - work, provided they involve the transfer of “funds” as defined under French and EU law. The regulatory focus is primarily on AML/CFT compliance, notably ensuring that international flows are monitored for financial crime. 6. Marketplaces, Exchanges and Trading Platforms 6.1 Permissible Trading Platforms Under French law, there are three categories of trad - ing platforms: regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities (MTFs, and Organised MTFs), and organised trading facilities (OTFs). In addition, since the entry into force of MiCAR, trading platforms for crypto-
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