Aide Juridictionnelle in France: 2026 Income Limits and How to Apply
France legal aid explained: the three fixed rates of 100, 55 and 25 percent, the 2026 income and asset ceilings, worked examples and how to apply.
11 min read
France Laws
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Alcool au Volant: France's Drink Driving Limits and Penalties Explained
France's drink driving law: the 0.5 and 0.2 g/L limits, contravention vs délit penalties, and the tougher fines and prison terms in force since July 2025.
10 min read
Arrêt Maladie in France: Employment Rights, Dismissal Limits and Leave
The employment side of an arrêt maladie in France: the 48 hour rule, top-up pay, dismissal limits, paid leave since 2024, and the visite de reprise.
13 min read
Autorité Parentale: Parental Authority Under French Family Law
How autorité parentale works in France: joint exercise by default, actes usuels vs importants, and when a court can suspend or withdraw parental authority.
11 min read
Boundary Trees and Hedges in France: Planting Distances Explained
French planting distances: trees over 2m need 2m from the line, under 2m need 0.5m (Code civil 671-673). Branches, roots, shared hedges, bornage explained.
9 min read
Can a Secret Recording Be Used as Evidence in France? The 2023 Rule
France's top court ended automatic exclusion of secret recordings in 2023. Learn the indispensable-and-proportionate test courts now apply, and its limits.
14 min read
Casier Judiciaire B2: Who Really Sees Your French Criminal Record
An employer only ever sees an empty bulletin n° 2. Who receives a French B2, which jobs trigger one, and how Articles 775-1 and 775-2 remove a conviction.
12 min read
Casier Judiciaire: The French Criminal Record Explained (B1, B2, B3)
How the French casier judiciaire works: what bulletins n° 1, 2 and 3 contain, who sees each one, how to request your B3 free, and how convictions come off.
11 min read
Child Support in France (Pension Alimentaire): Rules, Payment, and Enforcement
How pension alimentaire, France's child support obligation, is set, paid automatically through ARIPA, enforced for non payment, and applied to adult children.
9 min read
CNIL Fines French Hospital EUR 500,000 Over Breach Notification Failure
France's CNIL fined Hopital Prive de la Loire EUR 500,000 after a breach hit 524,867 patients and 202,246 trusted contacts. Only the patients were told.
8 min read
Commissaire de Justice in France: The Bailiff Explained
In France the huissier de justice is now the commissaire de justice. What a French bailiff serves, enforces, and records, and the limits on the role.
7 min read
Compensatory Payment on a French Divorce: How Prestation Compensatoire Works
How the French prestation compensatoire works: the Article 271 criteria judges weigh, capital versus the rente viagere exception, and its tax treatment.
9 min read
Conseil de Prud'hommes: How France's Labour Court Works and the Deadlines
How the conseil de prud'hommes works: the twelve month clock that starts on receipt of the letter, filing, conciliation, cost, départage and appeal.
11 min read
Dangerous Dogs in France: Categories 1 and 2, Permits and Penalties
France's dangerous-dog law: Category 1 vs 2, the permis de detention from the mairie, muzzle and leash rules, Category 1 bans and Code rural penalties.
7 min read
Defamation Law in France: Rules, Deadlines, Filing
How defamation works in France: diffamation vs injure under the 1881 press law, the three-month deadline, penalties, defenses, and how complaints are filed.
8 min read
Délit de Fuite in France: Penalties for Leaving the Scene of an Accident
France's hit and run law: délit de fuite penalties, how homicide and injury doubling works, and the new homicide routier and blessures routières offences.
11 min read
Dénonciation Calomnieuse: False Accusation Law in France (Art. 226-10)
False accusation in France under Code pénal Art. 226-10: up to 5 years and 45,000 EUR, plus a 6-year window when the 3-month diffamation deadline has passed.
9 min read
Dismissal for Gross Misconduct in France: Licenciement Pour Faute Grave
Dismissal for gross misconduct (licenciement pour faute grave) in France: what pay it removes, the procedural deadlines, and who bears the burden of proof.
9 min read
Divorce by Mutual Consent in France: The No-Judge Route and the Judicial Alternative
How divorce par consentement mutuel works in France: the no-judge route with two lawyers and a notaire, the minor-child exception, and the real costs.
9 min read
Droit a l'Image in France: Photo and Video Consent Rules
France's droit a l'image needs consent to both capture and publish a recognizable person, even in public. Exceptions, children, and remedies explained.
8 min read
Drone Rules in France: Registration, Training and Flight Limits
France drone rules for 2026: AlphaTango registration, A1/A3 and A2 training, the 120 m height limit, C0-C4 class markings and image-rights duties.
7 min read
Dying Without a Will in France (Succession Sans Testament)
How a French estate passes with no will: the four orders of heirs, the surviving spouse under Articles 757 to 757-2, and why PACS partners inherit nothing.
8 min read
Economic Dismissal in France: Licenciement Économique Explained
How economic dismissal (licenciement économique) works in France: the four legal grounds, reclassification rules, PSE thresholds, and the CSP program.
10 min read
Employee Monitoring in France: Geolocation and Workplace Video
Geolocation and video monitoring of employees in France: subsidiary measures, retention periods, the role of the CSE, and CNIL sanctions.
8 min read
Encadrement des Loyers in France: Where Rent Caps Actually Apply (2026)
French rent control applies in about ten territories, not nationwide. Where the loyer de reference applies, how the ceiling works, and its 2026 expiry.
12 min read
État des Lieux in France: Move-In Inventory Rules and Why It Decides Your Deposit
French move-in inventory rules: article 3-2, the Code civil 1731 presumption, the 10-day amendment window, fee caps, and why a grille de vétusté is optional.
10 min read
Eviction in France (Expulsion Locataire): The Procedure and the Six Week Trap
The French eviction procedure step by step, and why the six week payment period after a commandement de payer does not override the délai already written into the clause résolutoire of a lease running on 29 July 2023.
11 min read
Family Law in France: PACS, Divorce, Custody, Child Support
How French family law works: PACS, no-judge mutual consent divorce, prestation compensatoire, parental authority, shared custody, and pension alimentaire.
10 min read
Final Pay in France: the Solde de Tout Compte and What Employers Must Provide
What French employers must pay and hand over at contract end: the solde de tout compte, the 6 month contest window, and the documents legally required.
8 min read
Forced Heirship in France: The Reserved Share Explained
Forced heirship in France: how the reserved share protects children, the freely disposable share by number of children, and the cross-border rules.
10 min read
France Consumer and Debt Rights: A Guide to the Law
French consumer and debt law: faulty-goods guarantees, refunds, the commissaire de justice, payment orders, wage garnishment, and over-indebtedness.
9 min read
France DPE Rental Ban (Passoire Thermique): G, F and E Dates and Who It Catches
Class G banned since 1 January 2025, F from 2028, E from 2034. Which leases the French DPE rental ban actually catches, and what a tenant can do about it.
11 min read
France Driving Laws: Points, Speeding, Drink Driving, and Fines
French road traffic law: the permis a points system, probationary licences, speeding bands, drink driving limits, delit de fuite, and contesting fines.
10 min read
France Driving Licence Points: Retrait and How to Recover Them
How France's 12-point licence works: how retrait removes points, the 6 and 8 point caps, and how points return after 6 months, 2 years, or 3 years.
7 min read
France E-Scooter Laws: EDPM Rules, Age Limits, and Fines (2026)
Is it legal to ride an e-scooter in France? A guide to EDPM circulation rules, the age-14 minimum, insurance, fines, and why the Paris ban only covers rental scooters.
10 min read
France Employment Law: Dismissal, Resignation, Severance and Pay
A guide to French employment law: how a contract ends, notice and severance rules, final pay, overtime and paid leave, and the deadlines that apply.
10 min read
France Licence Invalidation, Suspension and Cancellation Explained
France separates invalidation (solde nul), suspension, and judicial annulation. Waiting periods, medical and psychotechnical exams, and retest rules.
7 min read
France Points Recovery Course (Stage de Recuperation de Points)
How the French points recovery course works: up to 4 points back, once a year, about 200 EUR, only at a prefet-approved CSSR. Rules explained in English.
7 min read
France Recording Laws: Consent, Penalties and Evidence
How French recording law works: the article 226-1 consent rule, penalties, the narrow case-law exception, and when a secret recording is evidence.
8 min read
France Security Deposit (Dépôt de Garantie): Limits, Deadlines and the 10% Late Penalty
French dépôt de garantie rules: the one month and two month ceilings, the return deadline, and how the 10% per month commencé late penalty is calculated.
10 min read
France Severance Pay: How the Indemnite de Licenciement Is Calculated
See the exact French formula for statutory severance pay, two full worked examples, the 8 month seniority rule, and how the indemnity is taxed in 2026.
8 min read
France Speeding Fines: Full 2026 Penalty Table and Points Schedule
France speeding fines and points by km/h band, plus the 2025 reform making 50+ km/h over the limit a délit from a first offense, effective 29 December 2025.
10 min read
France Tenant Rights: A Guide to Renting Under the 1989 Law
How French residential tenancy works: the 1989 law, the furnished and unfurnished split, inventories, deposits, rent limits, notice periods and eviction.
11 min read
France Winter Eviction Ban (Trêve Hivernale): Dates, Exceptions and What It Does Not Stop
The French trêve hivernale runs 1 November to 31 March. What it suspends, what it does not, and the exceptions most summaries get wrong.
10 min read
French Criminal Law and Justice: Procedure, Rights and Records
How French criminal justice works: reporting an offence, garde à vue, legitimate defence, aide juridictionnelle and the casier judiciaire, explained.
10 min read
French Inheritance Tax (Droits de Succession): 2026 Rates and Allowances
How droits de succession works in France in 2026: allowances by relationship, the full tax scale, filing deadlines, and a step by step worked example.
11 min read
French Law Explained: Codes, Courts and Key Rules (2026)
How French law actually works: the codes that hold the rules, which court hears what, avocat versus notaire, and the 2025 and 2026 changes to driving, defamation and evidence.
14 min read
French Neighbour and Property Disputes: A Guide
How French neighbour law works: noise nuisance, trouble anormal de voisinage codified in 2024, boundary planting distances, hedges, trees, and bornage.
8 min read
Garde a Vue in France: Duration, Rights and the 2024 Lawyer Reform
How long garde à vue can last in France, the 96 and 144 hour regimes, the rights that must be notified, and what changed on 1 July 2024.
11 min read
Garde Alternée in France: How Shared Custody and Alternating Residence Work
How garde alternée works in France: when judges can order alternating residence over objection, child support rules, and the 2025 CMG reform explained.
11 min read
GDPR in France: the Informatique et Libertés Law, the CNIL, and Your Rights
How the GDPR applies in France through the loi 78-17 and the CNIL: sanctions, exercising your rights, complaints, and 2025 developments on AI.
8 min read
Harcèlement Moral at Work in France: The Law and Where to Report
How French law defines harcèlement moral at work, the employer prevention duty, how proof works, why the barème does not apply, and where to report.
11 min read
Hidden Defects in France: The Vice Cache Warranty (Especially for Used Cars)
The vice cache warranty lets French buyers undo a sale or cut the price for a hidden defect, within 2 years of discovery. Key for used cars.
8 min read
How Inheritance Works in France: Heirs, Spousal Rights, and Succession Rules
How inheritance works under French law: the order of heirs, spousal rights, succession options, key deadlines, and the reserved share protecting children.
11 min read
How Much Does a Divorce Cost in France? (2026 Guide)
French divorce cost explained: the droit de partage tax (1.10% since 2022, CGI Art. 746), the four divorce routes, lawyer and notaire fees, and legal aid.
8 min read
How to Calculate Pension Alimentaire in France: The Official Barème
The Ministry of Justice barème formula for calculating pension alimentaire in France, explained step by step with worked examples for one and three children.
10 min read
How to Contest a Traffic Fine in France: ANTAI, Deadlines, and Appeals
How to contest a French traffic fine: the 45-day ANTAI requête en exonération, consignation rules, the amende majorée deadline, and FPS appeals to the TSP.
10 min read
How to File a CNIL Complaint in France (What It Can and Cannot Do)
How to file a free complaint with France's CNIL: what to submit, what happens next, and why the CNIL cannot award you compensation for a data protection breach.
11 min read
How to File a Criminal Complaint in France: Porter Plainte Explained
Filing a plainte in France: in person, online since 15 October 2024, or by letter to the procureur. Plainte contre X, deadlines and partie civile rules.
10 min read
How to File a Defamation Complaint in France: Procedure, Deadlines, and Costs
Learn how defamation complaints are filed in France: plainte simple, plainte avec partie civile, and citation directe, the three-month deadline, and costs.
12 min read