In brief
Foreign direct investment screening in France (“French FDI Screening”) continues to gain momentum. The 2025 annual report of the Foreign Direct Investment Screening Office (CIEF) within the French Treasury (Direction Générale du Trésor) confirms an underlying trend: the regime is expanding, becoming more structured and now forms part of a strengthened European framework. For M&A practitioners, these developments call for heightened vigilance when structuring and planning cross-border transactions.
A sharp increase in screening activity
In 2025, 418 filings were submitted to the French Treasury, compared with 392 in 2024, representing an increase of approximately 7% and more than three times the number recorded in 2014.
Of these filings, 52% were found to fall within the scope of the French FDI screening regime. Of the 167 investments authorized, nearly half (49%) were approved subject to conditions, a level broadly consistent with previous years (54% in 2024 and 44% in 2023). Seven investments have been formally prohibited over the past four years, in addition to voluntary withdrawals by investors, in some cases in anticipation of conditions considered overly burdensome.
Ultimate investors remain predominantly non-European (67%), led by investors from the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
A continuously expanding scope
The range of activities subject to screening continues to expand. Since 1 January 2024, the regime has applied where non-European investors cross the threshold of 10% of the voting rights in French target companies listed on a regulated market in the European Union or the European Economic Area. This filing trigger, initially introduced as a temporary measure, has now been made permanent. In addition, following the decree and ministerial order of 30 July 2026, the regime has been extended to French companies whose shares are admitted to trading on certain markets in third countries, including, in particular, the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. This enables the French authorities to exercise FDI screening powers over transactions involving French companies that have chosen to list outside Europe.
A strengthened European framework
The revised EU Regulation on the screening of foreign direct investments, adopted on 17 June 2026, represents a major milestone. It requires each Member State to establish a screening mechanism covering a minimum set of activities, extends its scope to investments made by companies established in the European Union but controlled by third-country investors, and strengthens the cooperation mechanism between Member States and the European Commission. The French regime, which is one of the most mature in the EU, will have to incorporate new categories of activities, including electoral infrastructure, financial services, and dual-use items listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821.
For M&A practitioners, these developments make it even more essential to assess at an early stage whether acquisitions and investments fall within the scope of the French FDI Screening regime and to factor the various potential procedural scenarios promptly into the transaction timetable and transaction documents.
This article was originally published in The Legal Industry Reviews: France – October 2026.