English Translation of a Guide on Franchissements de seuil in French Securities Law

We recently translated into English a practical guide for the shareholders of a well-known French company specializing in the manufacture of writing instruments.

📑 Clearly informing shareholders of their obligations

The document was designed to explain, in a clear and accessible way, the rules applicable when franchissements de seuil occur under French securities law.

These situations arise when a shareholder’s stake in the share capital or voting rights exceeds (or falls below) certain thresholds set by:

• the law,

• regulations (AMF),

• or the company’s articles of association.

Such franchissements de seuil trigger obligations to file a declaration with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), and may even require the launch of a mandatory bid.

⚖️ Translating securities law for a non-lawyer audience

The main challenge of this project was to render rigorous legal content while maintaining an accessible and pedagogical tone for readers without specialist knowledge.

We paid particular attention to accurately conveying concepts such as:

• action de concert (acting in concert),

• rachat d’actions (buyback of shares),

• and their implications for corporate governance and market transparency.

📌 Key contextual equivalents in this project

• actionnaires → shareholders

• franchissement de seuil → exceeding a threshold

• obligations de déclaration → holding notification requirements

• action de concert → acting in concert

• offre publique obligatoire → mandatory bid

• rachat d’actions → buyback of shares

• AMF → French Financial Market Authority