The Autorité de la concurrence issues its opinion of 31 July 2025 on the assessment and outlook of the 2015 reform of the conditions of establishment and regulated rates for certain legal professions
On the 10th anniversary of French law 2015-990 of 6 August 2015 for Growth, Activity and Equal Economic Opportunities (hereinafter the “Law for Growth and Activity”), the Autorité started inquiries ex officio on 10 October 2024 in order to assess the reforms of freedom of establishment and rates, which have profoundly changed the legal framework applicable to the regulated legal professions.
In the opinion, the Autorité has made both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of both aspects of the reform.
The reforms introduced by the Law for Growth and Activity have produced mixed results, with an overall positive impact on freedom of establishment but a more mixed impact on the regulation of rates. In some respects, the legislator’s objectives cannot be considered to have been achieved.
With regard to freedom of establishment, the objectives set by the reform to increase the service offering and to encourage women and young graduates to enter the profession, while preserving the geographic coverage and economic viability of the offices set up prior to the reform, have on the whole been achieved. The Autorité notes, however, that offices set up by notaries and commissioners of justice in the context of freedom of establishment become profitable after between three and five years in business, meaning some offices set up during the most recent waves of establishment are still experiencing economic difficulties.
As concerns the regulation of rates, the picture is more nuanced. There are still uncertainties about the method for revising rates, and the rate reductions introduced do not appear to be sufficient to bring rates into line with costs, as envisaged by the Law for Growth and Activity. In response to the findings, the Autorité makes a number of recommendations aimed at improving the current system, and also suggests that ways of enabling each profession to achieve the profitability target of 20% set by the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce) should be explored, starting from much higher levels for certain professions.