FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Sophie Scemla, Didier G Martin, Diane Paillot de Montabert and Calypso Korkikian, Gide Loyrette Nouel
industries, notably by integrating compliance, corporate governance, and risk prevention. Sector-specific regulations apply to high-risk industries, with for instance the ANSSI enforc- ing cybersecurity resilience. Companies must conduct mandatory risk assessments, comply with regulatory monitoring, and integrate crisis planning into board-level decision-making. This compliance-driven approach ensures business- es align crisis response with governance, trans- In France, crisis management relies on struc- tured inter-agency co-ordination to enforce compliance, corporate accountability, and risk mitigation. For instance, the AFA, the PNF and the AMF collaborate to ensure businesses com- ply with anti-corruption, financial transparency, and governance obligations. The ANSSI and the CNIL also collaborate on cybersecurity topics notably in crisis situations. parency, and regulatory obligations. 2.9 Inter-Agency Co-Operation Furthermore, all government bodies co-operate activity with the Public Prosecutor Office. Pursu- ant to Article 40 of the French Criminal Proce- dure Code, all State authorities and employees have a legal obligation to report any suspicion of any criminal offence they have gained knowl- edge of in the course of their duties to the Pub- lic Prosecutor. For instance, tax authorities and Tracfin (French intelligence service responsible for combating money laundering and the financ- ing of terrorism, as well as tax, social security and customs fraud) and tax authorities have reported many facts which may constitute crimi- nal offences, such as money laundering or tax fraud. Such reports can lead to the opening of criminal or judicial investigations.
Government entities co-ordinate through secto- ral crisis management frameworks. Government entities’ partnerships involve compliance audits, regulatory stress tests, and joint crisis simula- tions, particularly in high-risk sectors. Inter-agency collaboration is reinforced through centralised compliance monitoring, corporate governance oversight, and sanctions for non- compliance. 3. Corporate Crisis Management 3.1 Crisis Management Plans In France, corporate crisis management plans focus on legal compliance, risk mitigation, gov- ernance and accountability. Companies establish risk committees to oversee potential crises and prepare for them, with spe- cial crisis committees handling sector-specific risks (eg, financial compliance, cybersecurity, and environmental incidents). Plans integrate codes of conduct, public communication pro- grammes, crisis committees emergency meet- ings, etc, ensuring regulatory compliance and an effective response in case a crisis emerges. Crisis plans include escalation protocols, ensur- ing co-ordination between legal, strategic and communication teams, and executives. Corporate boards oversee crisis compliance, with crisis simulations testing response effec- tiveness. A structured plan ensures proactive risk management and regulatory alignment. 3.2 Internal Governance Most companies have risk and crisis commit- tees overseeing crisis prevention and reaction. High-risk industries often establish special cri- sis committees for financial, environmental, or
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