Strengthening control of foreign investments in France

(Boursier.com) — In accordance with the announcements of Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, the control of foreign investments in France (IEF) will be strengthened on January 1, 2024… The measure to control crossings of the 10% threshold in listed companies will be made permanent and the scope of control will be extended.

“To continue to protect companies and key technologies for our security, the IEF control framework is subject to new adaptations which will come into force on January 1, 2024” comments Bercy.

Introduced in the context of the health crisis in order to protect listed French companies carrying out a sensitive activity from opportunistic shareholdings, the measure to control the crossing of the threshold of 10% of voting rights by a non-European investor in a listed company will be definitively perpetuated, in accordance with the announcements made by the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, during his wishes to economic players on January 5, 2023.

Extended field

The scope of control will also be extended, as announced by the minister on August 24, 2023. Takeovers of branches of entities under foreign law carrying out a sensitive activity will now be subject to control, in order to protect against possible strategies for circumventing IEF regulations. In addition, new sectors will now be covered…

“On the one hand, extraction, processing and recycling activities of critical raw materials, which are essential for the protection of our national interests, will now be eligible for IEF control. On the other hand, research and development in photonics and in low-carbon energy production technologies will now be eligible for control, when they are intended to be implemented in one of the sectors of the regulation. Finally, activities essential to the safety of penitentiary establishments will now be explicitly covered by the regulations” continues Bercy.

Bruno Le Maire declared: “In an international economic context marked by heightened competition, I am determined to continue to protect our sovereignty and our fundamental interests in the industrial and technological fields.”