Week of 17-24 August 2026
French and EU legislation and case law.
Period notice. The week under review falls in the heart of the judicial recess. No decision was handed down by the Commercial, Financial and Economic Chamber of the Cour de cassation, by the Court of Justice of the European Union, by the Autorité de la concurrence, or by the AMF Enforcement Committee between 17 and 24 August 2026. Regulatory activity, however, remained brisk: five statutes were promulgated on 18 August, and around ten decrees and orders directly affecting business life were published in the Official Journal between issues No. 0191 (18 August) and No. 0196 (23 August). In the absence of judicial decisions, the “Case law” section reports on the Constitutional Council rulings published in the Official Journal of 19 August.
I. Legislation
Statutes promulgated
Act No. 2026-796 of 18 August 2026 on emergency measures for agricultural protection and sovereignty (JORF No. 0192 of 19 August 2026). This is the most substantial text of the week, concerning primarily agricultural input suppliers, the food industry and operators of classified installations. The rule now reaches far beyond the farm gate. It amends the regime governing the placing on the market and use of plant protection products (Article L. 253-8 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code), relaxes environmental authorisation and public-participation procedures (Article L. 181-10-1 of the Environment Code), and alters the balance of water-resource management (Article L. 211-1 of the same Code). Eight sets of provisions were struck down by the Constitutional Council (see Part II below). In force the day after publication, subject to the implementing regulations announced.
Act No. 2026-795 of 18 August 2026 to modernise the management of State real-estate assets (JORF No. 0192 of 19 August 2026). It converts the State Real Estate Management Agency into a public establishment and organises the transfer to it of assets belonging to the private or public domain of the State and its public bodies. These transfers and the conversion operations benefit from complete tax neutrality — no tax, duty, levy, contribution or fee payable to the Treasury — with the sole exception of corporate income tax. The text bears watching for real-estate operators and prospective bidders in future State asset disposals.
Local taxation of commercial premises
Decree No. 2026-804 of 20 August 2026 implementing the last paragraph of I of Article 1498 of the General Tax Code (JORF No. 0194 of 21 August 2026). The decree creates a new Article 324 AA in Annex III to the General Tax Code and introduces a derogatory method of rental-value assessment for very large stores whose outdoor surface area is predominant and which mainly sell products of agricultural origin — in practice, garden centres and large plant-retail outlets. Size alone no longer decides who qualifies. These premises, previously classified in category 5 of sub-group I (very large stores), are now treated as commercial or industrial land and classified in category 1 of sub-group III within the meaning of Article 310 Q of Annex II, significantly reducing their rental value and, consequently, their property tax and business property contribution. Two cumulative conditions apply: uncovered outdoor sales space must exceed 50% of total floor area, and more than half of the establishment’s net turnover, assessed over the calendar year preceding the tax year, must come from the sale of flowers, plants, seeds, pet food, fertilisers and plant-protection products. A non-owner operator must notify the landlord, by 31 December of the relevant year at the latest, when these thresholds are crossed — whether upwards or downwards: a new obligation that will need to be reconciled with the tax clauses of ongoing commercial leases.
Businesses in difficulty
Order of 30 July 2026 setting the reference tariff period applicable to judicial administrators, judicial receivers and plan-implementation commissioners (NOR: ECOC2428794A, JORF No. 0193 of 20 August 2026). The order amends Article A. 663-3 of the Commercial Code as well as the order of 25 February 2026 setting the average target return rate and the regulated tariffs of judicial administrators and receivers. It resolves an implementation difficulty arising from the entry into force, on 1 March 2026, of the new regulated tariff: services listed in Table 4-1 of the schedule annexed to Article R. 444-3 of the Commercial Code, performed in proceedings opened before that date, remain subject to the previously applicable tariffs. The rule secures billing for ongoing appointments and neutralises the risk of challenges to fee statements in proceedings predating 1 March 2026. In force on 21 August 2026, the day after publication.
Banking and consumer credit law
Order of 11 August 2026 amending the order of 26 October 2010 on the national register of consumer credit repayment incidents (FICP) (NOR: ECOT2609391A, JORF No. 0196 of 23 August 2026). The FICP reform is far-reaching for lenders. The triggering event for consultation is extended to any significant increase in the total amount of credit, not only to the initial grant; the scope of credit covered is redefined by reference to the first paragraph of Article L. 312-4-1 of the Consumer Code; and the right of consultation is extended to all institutions and bodies referred to in I of Article 1. Above all, letters sent to a defaulting borrower must now invite them to contact at least one support body for people in financial difficulty within the meaning of Article L. 311-1(18) of the Consumer Code, whose contact details must be included in accordance with Article D. 312-36. In the event of assignment or transfer of debt management, the debtor must be informed of the identity and contact details of the new manager, in compliance with Articles L. 54-11-10 and R. 54-11-3 of the Monetary and Financial Code. CNIL Opinion No. 2026-029 of 12 March 2026 on the draft order was published in the same Official Journal.
Order of 14 August 2026 amending the order of 9 June 2016 implementing Article D. 313-10-2 of the Consumer Code (JORF No. 0196 of 23 August 2026). The text replaces the annex setting the minimum training programme required under Article D. 314-23 of the Consumer Code for mortgage-credit intermediaries. The programme is significantly expanded: anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures, foreign-currency loan agreements, the principle of unbundling borrower insurance and the concept of equivalent cover, the AERAS scheme, prevention and treatment of over-indebtedness, and the respective supervisory and enforcement powers of the ACPR and the DGCCRF. Lenders and credit intermediaries (IOBSP) will need to update their training plans and professional competency records.
Public procurement, commercial relations and compliance
Decree No. 2026-792 of 15 August 2026 creating a temporary threshold exempting certain contracts from advertising and competitive tendering (JORF No. 0191 of 18 August 2026). Until 31 December 2026 inclusive, purchasers referred to in Articles L. 1211-1 and L. 1212-1 of the Public Procurement Code may award, without prior advertising or competitive tendering, a works contract with an estimated value below €140,000 excluding tax for the installation of heat pumps in buildings or connection to an urban heating network. The exemption also applies to lots below this amount, provided their cumulative value does not exceed 20% of the total estimated value of all lots. Sound-management obligations remain: selecting a relevant offer, making good use of public funds, and refraining from systematically contracting with the same economic operator where multiple offers exist.
Order of 14 August 2026 extending the interprofessional agreement concluded under ANICAP on written contracting in the raw goat’s-milk sector (JORF No. 0193 of 20 August 2026). The extension makes the agreement binding on all operators in the goat sector, including non-members, and continues the move towards mandatory written contracting in agricultural sectors initiated by the EGalim statutes.
Asset-freeze measures. Two orders of 12 and 18 August 2026 implementing Articles L. 562-2 et seq. of the Monetary and Financial Code were published in JORF No. 0195 of 22 August 2026. They must be reflected without delay in the screening systems of entities subject to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations.
Energy and billing. Decree No. 2026-805 of 20 August 2026 on the development plan for the public electricity distribution network (JORF No. 0194 of 21 August 2026) sets out network operators’ planning obligations. The order of 20 July 2026 (JORF No. 0191 of 18 August 2026) also amends the order of 18 April 2012 on electricity and gas supply invoices, payment arrangements, and the conditions for carrying forward or refunding overpayments — a text to be incorporated into suppliers’ general terms and conditions of sale.
Trade and professional bodies
Decree No. 2026-806 of 21 August 2026 on the procedure for filing accounts of trade unions of employees or employers and their federations, and of employee or employer associations with resources below €230,000 (JORF No. 0195 of 22 August 2026). The decree removes the last paragraph of Article D. 2135-7 of the Labour Code, ending the option of filing accounts with the regional directorates for the economy, employment, labour and solidarity. Publicity of accounts must now be ensured, within three months of their approval by the statutory governing body, either under the general-law conditions of Article D. 2135-7 or by publication on the organisation’s website. Employer trade unions, their federations, and employer associations seeking representative status under Title V of Book I of Part Two of the Labour Code must, under the same conditions, publish the statutory auditor’s report. Entry into force deferred to 15 January 2027, giving the organisations concerned time to adapt their internal procedures.
II. Case law
During the judicial recess, case-law activity relevant to business law was confined to the Constitutional Council rulings handed down on 14 August 2026 and published in the Official Journal of 19 August 2026. Two rulings, one week, same message.
Constitutional Council
Constitutional Council, 14 August 2026, No. 2026-914 DC, Act on emergency measures for agricultural protection and sovereignty (JORF No. 0192 of 19 August 2026). Partial non-conformity, with interpretive reservations. The Council struck down paragraph 3 of Article 14, together with Articles 16, 26, 32, 35, 36 and 55 of the referred statute, and held unconstitutional the words restricting standing to bring proceedings “to persons demonstrating an interest in acting in relation to the project concerned, in particular by reason of geographic proximity or status as a local resident”, in Article 46(2) — a restriction on judicial review of agricultural projects that did not survive scrutiny. Interpretive reservations were issued, in particular on paragraphs II ter to II quinquies of Article L. 253-8 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code, as amended by Article 6 of the statute (plant protection products), and on Article L. 214-7-1 of the Environment Code introduced by Article 27. The official commentary is expected in October 2026.
Constitutional Council, 14 August 2026, No. 2026-913 DC, Act to modernise the management of State real-estate assets (JORF No. 0192 of 19 August 2026). Conformity. Reviewing the exemption from all taxes and duties — other than corporate income tax — granted for transfers of real estate to the new public establishment, the Council dismissed challenges based on the principles of equality before the law and before public burdens: those principles “do not require that private persons be subject to tax rules identical to those applicable to public legal persons”. The difference in treatment, confined to operations necessary for the establishment’s creation and to transfers of public assets, rests on objective and rational criteria related to the purpose of the statute. The Council further held that Parliament had not exceeded its powers by delegating to regulation the list of transferable assets.
Worth noting — outside the strict review period
Constitutional Council, 6 August 2026, No. 2026-1219 QPC, Société Danske Commodities. A landmark ruling for the law of economic administrative sanctions, still widely discussed this week. The Council held unconstitutional, for failure to notify the right to remain silent to the person concerned, the words “and gathers their observations” in the second sentence of the last paragraph of Article L. 134-25-1 of the Energy Code, and the words “and to submit written observations and, at the public hearing, oral observations” in Article L. 134-31, as amended by Ordinance No. 2020-891 of 22 July 2020 on the procedures of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s Disputes and Sanctions Committee. Repeal is deferred to 31 October 2027 to avoid manifestly excessive consequences, but a transitional reservation requires that, from the date of publication of the ruling, the person concerned be informed of their right to remain silent. Silence, once again, is a right worth stating plainly. The read-across of this reasoning to the sanctions procedures of the Autorité de la concurrence, the AMF, the ACPR and ARCEP warrants particular attention.
No decisions during the period
Cour de cassation, Commercial Chamber. No ruling handed down between 17 and 24 August 2026; the last decision published in the Bulletin remains that of 8 July 2026 (appeal No. 24-17.188), which held that the five-year limitation period under Article 2224 of the Civil Code, applicable to actions for recovery of the public debt arising from a pecuniary sanction imposed by the AMF Enforcement Committee, runs from the date the public accountant takes charge of the collection order transmitted by the authorising officer. The Court’s other decisions published online during the week were presiding-judge orders of 13 August 2026 and Criminal Chamber rulings of 12 August 2026. The courts did not pause for August.
Court of Justice of the European Union. Judicial recess: no ruling or opinion published since mid-July 2026; the Court is expected to resume in September.
Autorité de la concurrence. No decision or announcement since 4 August 2026. The last substantive decision published was the conditional clearance, on 31 July 2026, of the joint acquisition of Caillé Grande Distribution and Make Distribution in Réunion by the Caillé and IBL groups. The review of the SFR (Altice France) acquisition, which the Autorité confirmed on 15 July 2026 fell within its jurisdiction, remains to be followed after the summer break.
Autorité des marchés financiers. No Enforcement Committee decision during the period; the last is decision SAN-2026-07 of 21 July 2026.