Practical guidance on enforcement of court or arbitration decisions in France

Congratulations! You just won your case! Winning in court or arbitration is a big milestone. But a judgment or award does not automatically mean money in your account. You still need to recognize (if foreign), enforce, and often seize assets—especially if a debtor resists or hides what they own. This article explains how enforcement works in France when the debtor’s assets are located there.

At a glance:

1. Find the assets. Enforcement succeeds where the assets are, not necessarily where the debtor is. Use official French registries to locate real estate, corporate information, and bank accounts.
2. Make your decision enforceable in France. The route depends on where the decision was issued (EU member States, Lugano states, Hague 2019 Convention states, or others). 
3. Choose proportionate seizure measures. With an enforceable title, a bailiff can seize money in bank accounts, wages, securities, movable assets, or real estate. 
4. Interim protection is available. You can freeze assets or register judicial security while a case is ongoing, including during arbitration, often without notifying the debtor first.

I. STEP 1 — IDENTIFY THE DEBTOR’S ASSETS

More often than not, effective enforcement will take place where the assets are located, not where the debtor is. Before initiating proceedings, claimants should thus identify the location of the debtor’s assets and determine whether (a) they are sufficient to satisfy the judgment or award and, if so, (b) whether they are available for the purposes of enforcement.

Practically speaking, these are the resources available to the creditor in France:

• To obtain information about ownership of real estate property, a form must be sent to the Local Land Registry Service (Service de la Publicité Foncière).  
• To obtain information on corporations, you can consult the Register of Commerce and Corporations (Registre national des entreprises). 
• Bailiffs can also access the national file of bank accounts and similar (Fichier des comptes bancaires – FICOBA), which contains information about accounts held by individuals and corporations. While this provides the bailiff with a full list of French banks in which the debtor holds an account, this list does not indicate the respective amounts held. Consequently, the applicant will be unaware of the amounts held until the attachment is made.
• Additionally, the National Registry of Frozen Assets (Registre national des gels) lists all persons, entities and vessels subject to asset freezing measures in force in France, which can make the seizure of assets significantly more complex, or even impossible.

II. STEP 2 — MAKE YOUR DECISION ENFORCEABLE IN FRANCE

French law is favorable to recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments and awards, and courts do not review the merits of the underlying dispute. Your route depends on where the decision originated.

1. Enforcement of court decisions in France 

In order to enforce a foreign judgment in France, it is first necessary to determine whether the judgment was rendered by a court located in a Member State of the European Union (“EU”) or by a court of a third country.
 

i. Simplified enforcement of judgments issued within the European Union 

For proceedings initiated on or after 10 January 2015,  the Brussels I Recast Regulation (EU No. 1215/2012) is applicable.

Under the Brussels I Recast Regulation, seeking enforcement of a court judgment is highly simplified: there is no need to pursue any exequatur procedure or any further declaration. Article 42 of the Recast Brussels Regulation only provides that the applicant shall address to the competent enforcement authority of the country where enforcement is sought (i) an authenticated copy of the judgment and (ii) a certificate issued by the court of origin attesting that the decision is enforceable in accordance with the form set out in Annex I. A translation of the necessary documents by a sworn translator can be required. 

The “competent enforcement authority” for hearing applications for enforcement in France, within the meaning of Article 42 of the Brussel I Recast Brussels Regulation, is the Court of First Instance (Tribunal Judiciare) acting as a single judge. 

ii. Enforcement of judgments issued outside the European Union

Routes are more diverse and complex if you seek to enforce a court judgment in France, which has not been issued within the EU, as several regulatory frameworks may apply. 

a) Simplified enforcement procedures through other multilateral and bilateral conventions  

• If the judgment has been rendered in a State that is a contracting party to the Lugano Convention – other than the EU – i.e., Denmark, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, the Lugano Convention applies before French courts. Article 38 provides for a fast-track enforcement proceeding: the creditor must file a request (“requête”) with the director of the registry of the first instance court (“directeur du greffe du tribunal judiciaire”) to obtain an enforcement order (“déclaration constatant la force exécutoire”).  The tribunal judicaire will assess only whether the foreign decision complies with formal conditions – authenticity of the judgment and accompanying certificate from the originating State. This stage does not involve substantive reexamination.
• France is also a party to the Hague Convention of 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, which applies to the recognition and enforcement of judgment handed down by a court of a Contracting State in the territory of another Contracting State, without the need to re-examine the substance of the case, subject to limited refusal grounds (e.g., fraud, lack of proper notice, public policy, conflicting judgments). To this date, the Hague Convention 2019 is in effect in all member states of the EU (except Denmark), the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Uruguay. The Convention is also set to enter into force for both Albania and Montenegro on 1 March 2026 and for Andorra on 1 June 2026. 
• Beside these multilateral conventions, France has also signed several bilateral treaties with various other countries that govern the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments. A comprehensive list of the treaties concluded by France can be found on the website of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

b) Default enforcement under French law (no applicable convention)

If the judgment has not been issued by a court of an EU member State, and in the absence of any applicable multilateral or bilateral convention, the conditions for granting exequatur to the foreign judgment are governed by the general rules of French private international law. Under this regime, the party seeking enforcement of a foreign judgment must file a request for exequatur. Such request must be sent to the clerk in chief of the competent court, that is, the civil court (Tribunal judiciaire), ruling as a single judge. In particular, the party seeking exequatur must provide a judgment that is enforceable in its country of origin. The party must be represented by a lawyer, evidencing the critical role played by adequate assistance in this respect. 

The enforcement of foreign judgments is possible if the three following conditions are fulfilled :

• The foreign court that rendered the judgment had jurisdiction over the claim;
• The foreign judgment must be compatible with French international public policy, in compliance with fundamental procedural and substantive principles applicable in France; and
• The choice of foreign courts is not fraudulent.

Foreign judgments can be enforced within 10 years from the date of the exequatur decision. 

Enforcement decision may be appealed within one month of being notified by one party to the other. This time period is extended by two months if the parties are domiciled abroad.  The appeal period runs only from the effective receipt by the recipient. 

2. Enforcement of arbitral awards in France 

France is a party to several treaties facilitating the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, including the New York Convention of 10 June 1958. Yet, by virtue of the “more favourable law” rule contained in article VII(1) of the New York Convention, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure take precedence over the New York Convention, which is, as a result, less relevant in France than in other jurisdictions. Articles 1514 et seq of the Code of Civil Procedure therefore, apply to awards rendered in France in international matters and to awards rendered abroad, whether in domestic or international matters. 

The French recognition and enforcement regime is known for its very liberal approach -favorable to recognition and enforcement. For example, French law allows for the recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award that was annulled in the foreign seat of arbitration.  

Article 1516 of the French Code of Civil Procedure provides that exequatur proceedings shall not be adversarial, i.e. can proceed without notifying the other party. The same article specifies that the application for exequatur shall be filed with the Court Registrar of the tribunal judiciaire. In practice, the application for exequatur consists of a few hand-written lines through which a party asks the judge to enforce a foreign award, without notifying the other party. Such an application is filed together with the original award and arbitration agreement, or duly authenticated copies of such documents.

The Court will issue the enforcement order within approximately fifteen (15) days. The decision may be appealed by either party within one month of service of the order. 

The Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Civil Enforcement Proceedings do not provide a time limit for applying for a recognition and enforcement order of international arbitral awards. However, a recent ruling yet to be confirmed applied a five-year time limit.  

Challenges to awards do not suspend enforcement,  though in exceptional circumstances the Court of Appeal may suspend or adapt enforcement . Illustrative circumstances include difficulty of restitution if enforcement is annulled, loss of jointly owned shares, sovereignty concerns, or jeopardizing a party’s business viability. 

III. STEP 3 – SEIZE THE DEBTOR’S ASSETS

In case of any dispute, the first solution to be considered is the amicable recovery, to avoid further legal procedures. Creditors must be mindful that enforcement proceedings in France are often slowed down by notification processes, which can be extremely lengthy in the case of service on debtors domiciled abroad (as they often are), and even more so when the debtor is a foreign State.

If no agreement is reached with the debtor, the creditor must get ready for seizing measures against its debtor!

Pursuant to Article L. 111-7 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Proceedings, a creditor can choose the enforcement measure it wishes to carry out, provided that it is proportionate and necessary. 

1) Who is in charge? 

Bailiffs (commissaires de justice, formerly known as huissiers de justice) are empowered to act and carry out such attachments. Bailiffs are hired directly by the creditor, without involvement of any court. Their powers are restricted to the territory in which they are appointed. In practice, this means that enforcing judgments or awards in France can require the assistance of several bailiffs. 

2) What type of assets can be enforced? Almost all of the debtor assets.

According to articles L. 112-1 and L. 112-2 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Proceedings, all assets owned by a debtor are attachable, except those specifically exempted by law.

If the judgment orders the payment of sums of money, here is a list of the most often used seizures available to the creditor:

• Attachment of bank accounts (Saisie-attribution): This measure allows the creditor to recover the amount of the debt (and bailiff’s fees) directly from the debtor’s bank accounts: current accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing accounts, joint accounts, etc. The bank is required to disclose the balances of all accounts. However, not all funds can be seized: an amount equivalent to the minimum social welfare income must remain in the account (solde bancaire insaisissable). The attachment can be renewed until the debt is fully paid.
• Attachment of wages (Saisie des rémunérations or “saisie sur salaire”): This procedure allows a creditor to recover a debt by directly deducting a portion of the debtor’s salary or similar income. It applies only to amounts regularly paid by an employer (wages, bonuses, allowances, etc.). A fraction of these earnings, determined according to a statutory scale that considers the amount and family situation of the debtor, can be seized each month until the debt is cleared.
• Attachment of securities and shareholder rights (Saisie de valeurs mobilières et des droits d’associés): This includes shares or partnership interests, which can be seized and sold.
• Attachment and sale of movable property (Saisie-vente de meubles): This procedure allows the creditor to seize and sell one or more movable assets belonging to the debtor and recover the amount owed from the sale proceeds.
• Attachment of real estate (Saisie immobilière): The bailiff may initiate the sale of a house or apartment when the amount of the debt justifies it.

If the judgment orders an act to be performed by the debtor (e.g. delivering a piece of furniture, returning an apartment, a piece of jewelry) – not payment:

• Claiming seizure (Saisie-revendication): The bailiff immobilizes assets that might otherwise be sold or lost (e.g., family heirlooms).
• Physical recovery (Saisie-appréhension): The bailiff goes directly to retrieve the asset from the debtor or wherever it is located. This enforcement measure allows the creditor, who is entitled to delivery or restitution, to take possession of movable property that the debtor is obliged to deliver or return, based on an enforceable title or a judge’s order.

3) Challenging the enforcement 

Once the attachment has been carried out, the debtor can pursue challenges within one month of receiving or being deemed to have received the notification. This delay is extended to three months when the debtor is domiciled abroad. 

Challenges are heard by the enforcement judge (juge de l’exécution, also known as “JEX”) of the place where the attachment has been made. The enforcement judge's review is limited to the existence of an enforceable title, the nature of the asset attached, and the fulfilment of procedural requirements (essentially, compliance with timelines and accuracy of mandatory information of which the attached party must be notified). 

Proceedings before the enforcement judge generally take three to nine months, depending on where in France they take place. Appeals can take twice as long.

4) Is it possible to obtain interim relief (e.g. an injunction to restrain disposal of assets) while the enforcement procedure takes place? 

Good news, yes, it is possible, both as part of judicial or arbitral proceedings! 

a) Securing interim relief during a court trial

When court proceedings are underway (in France or abroad), the French enforcement judge (juge de l’exécution) – may order asset‑preserving measures over assets located in France so that value remains available to satisfy your claim when judgment is handed down.

There are two types of asset-preserving measures:

• Freezing orders (saisies conservatoires) – This is the most common asset-preserving interim measure. Assets are frozen before judgment. If you prevail, the freeze gives way to a definitive seizure carried out by a bailiff, enabling swift recovery after the final decision.
• A judicial encumbrance (sureté judiciaire) – This is a court ordered charge over assets – buildings, businesses, securities, or other tangible or intangible property – serving as security for your claim pending judgment. Especially valuable if insolvency or liquidation looms.

To obtain interim relief, the claimant usually seeks authorization from the JEX and must meet two tests:

1. A claim well founded in principle: claimant must provide the judge with the key evidence supporting the claim so they can assess prospects of success. If the materials show a strong case, the measure is granted; and
2. A serious risk to recovery: claimant must show that, by the time of judgment, recovery may no longer be possible—for example, funds being moved beyond the reach of French courts, significant financial distress, unanswered payment notices, mounting debts, workforce reductions, or steps toward liquidation.

Practically speaking, claimant must submit both a formal request and a draft order to the juge de l’exécution. In most cases asset-preserving measures are sought without notice. The respondent is then notified about the ruling by a bailiff and can contest the measure only during a second stage of the procedure, once the assets have been frozen. Whether there is an oral hearing or not is at the judge’s discretion – in most cases, there is none. Asset-preserving measures also have to be executed within three months of the date of the court order after which they are no longer valid. 

In specific scenarios, the creditor may proceed without prior court authorization or a fresh application on the merits and risk, notably when: (i) an enforcement order already exists; or (ii) there is a judicial decision not yet enforceable. In these cases, you may instruct a bailiff directly to freeze or seize assets.

Once a court has granted an interim measure, the parties may always bring a claim for a final decision to either confirm or overturn the interim decision.  The parties may apply for an interim measure to be modified or withdrawn by making another interim application if new circumstances arise.  

b) Securing interim relief before French courts during an arbitration proceedings

Articles 1449 and 1468 of the Code of Civil Procedure provide that in any case, and even after the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the state courts’ enforcement judges (juge de l’exécution) have exclusive jurisdiction to order saisie conservatoire and sûreté judiciaire,  as well as to enforce such measures . As for interim measures sought as part of litigation proceedings, the juge de l’exécution will examine whether the claim appears to be well-founded in principle and whether certain circumstances are likely to threaten the recovery of damages. 

Once the interim measures have been obtained, the creditor must initiate proceedings or carry out the necessary formalities to obtain an enforceable title within one month of performance of the measure, failing which the measure will be voided.  

How we can help you at Clyde & Co:

We can map assets quickly, select proportionate measures, coordinate with bailiffs across France, and secure interim protection while recognition/enforcement proceeds. We can propose a tailored enforcement plan and timeline.