JURISDICTION FILE
French commercial law requires a mise en demeure before any court action can proceed. It is not optional. It is not a suggestion. It is Article 1344 of the Code civil. Skip it, and your court filing is void. We do not skip it.
France operates under the Napoleonic civil law system, where procedural formality is not a preference but a requirement. The mise en demeure (formal legal notice) is the mandatory first step before any judicial collection. Without it, no French court will hear your claim. French commercial debts carry automatic interest at 3 times the legal interest rate under Article L441-10 of the Code de commerce, plus a fixed EUR 40 compensation per invoice. These entitlements exist by operation of law — yet fewer than 15% of European creditors claim them. InterStation’s Paris office issues mise en demeure notices daily, in proper legal French, through the correct procedural channels.
HOW WE COLLECT HERE
Formal legal demand under Article 1344 Code civil. Sent by lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception (registered letter with acknowledgment). This establishes the debtor in default and starts interest accrual. It is a legal prerequisite — not a courtesy.
Fast-track payment order via the Tribunal de Commerce (commercial court) or Tribunal judiciaire. No hearing required for claims with written evidence. Cost: proportional to claim value. If unopposed within one month, it becomes enforceable.
Court-appointed enforcement officer executes the judgment. Bank account seizure (saisie-attribution). Asset seizure (saisie-vente). Wage garnishment (saisie sur rémunérations). The huissier acts with the authority of the court.
LEGAL INSTRUMENT SPOTLIGHT
Fast-Track Payment Order — Code de procédure civile, Articles 1405-1425
The injonction de payer is France’s equivalent of the German Mahnbescheid — a court order obtained without a hearing. The critical difference: the mise en demeure must precede it. File without it and the order is void. InterStation files approximately 200 injonctions per year through French commercial courts.
French commercial culture values formality and documentation. A debtor in France expects a structured escalation: written demand, then legal notice, then court filing. Skip a step and you lose credibility — both with the debtor and with the court. InterStation’s French team understands this sequence instinctively because they are French. They draft mise en demeure notices in legal French, not translated English. They file with the Tribunal de Commerce in the correct greffe. They instruct huissiers who know the local procedures. This is not something you can outsource to a generalist.
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