Proposition de loi "visant à accroître le financement des entreprises et l'attractivité de la France" Impact France mobilisé pour la démocratie actionnariale

Currently being drafted by Parliament, the bill to boost business financing and France's attractiveness proposes a series of measures designed to facilitate company IPOs.

Alongside the AEMA group and FIR, Impact France is fully mobilized to make this text a real lever for shareholder democracy. 

In detail, the text voted by the National Assembly proposes : 

• Encourage the development of multiple-voting shares to enable founders and managers to raise capital while retaining greater control of their company, with ordinary shares. In practice, this mechanism should enable young, growing companies with high capital requirements to list on the French stock exchange with these preference shares when they are first admitted to trading.
• Allow venture capital funds (FCPR) to support listed companies up to a market capitalization of €500 million (instead of €150 million).
• Dematerialize transferable securities to facilitate international growth for French companies.
• Promote remote consultations and meetings for shareholders' general meetings and decision-making bodies of commercial companies.
• Enshrine in the Code of Judicial Organization the specialization of the Paris Court of Appeal in international commercial arbitration.

Our proposed amendments to promote shareholder democracy : 

• Lowering the shareholding threshold required to table a resolution at a shareholders' meeting

We are proposing to lower the threshold of shareholder ownership required to table a resolution at a shareholders' meeting in large listed companies with capital in excess of one billion euros.

Indeed, French regulations governing the admissibility of resolutions are no longer adapted to the gigantism of our major companies, unlike in other major European financial centers (e.g. Germany, Sweden, the UK). At the same time, French institutional investors are increasingly obliged to direct the savings of French citizens towards companies that are virtuous in environmental, social and governance terms.

This lack of coherence poses a risk to the attractiveness of the Paris stock market and our major companies for a growing number of investors, who are in charge of the savings of French people who are increasingly keen to put their savings at the service of the ecological transition in particular. Facilitating the filing of resolutions will therefore create a climate of confidence in the future of our investors, by encouraging informed and calm shareholder dialogue on major strategic issues within our companies.

• Guarantee a right of expression for shareholders eligible to place an item or resolution on the AGM agenda.

We propose to guarantee a right of expression to shareholders who meet the conditions for placing an item or resolution on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting. 

Indeed, while the dematerialization of certain meetings can sometimes facilitate exchanges, there is a greater risk that shareholders will not be able to express themselves under such conditions, unlike the way they can do so at physical meetings. The aim of this proposal is therefore to protect shareholders' interest in having the guarantee of an informed and calm debate in the face of the progressive digitization of shareholders' meetings.

• Extend the deadlines for requests to include items or draft resolutions on the agenda of the general meeting of a listed company.

We are proposing to extend the deadlines for requesting the inclusion of items or draft resolutions on the agenda of the general meeting of a listed company.

In fact, French regulations governing the admissibility of resolutions are no longer adapted to the gigantic size of our major companies and the challenges they face, unlike in other major European financial centers (e.g. Germany, Sweden and the UK). At the same time, French institutional investors are increasingly obliged to direct the savings of French citizens towards companies that are virtuous in environmental, social and governance terms.

This lack of coherence poses a risk to the attractiveness of the Paris stock market and our major companies for a growing number of investors, who are in charge of the savings of French people who are increasingly keen to put their savings at the service of the ecological transition in particular. Facilitating the filing of resolutions will therefore create a climate of confidence in the future of our investors, by encouraging informed and calm shareholder dialogue on major strategic issues within our companies.

• Enable 150 shareholders to engage in debate at the Annual General Meeting

We propose to allow 150 shareholders to initiate a debate at the Annual General Meeting.

Indeed, French regulations governing the admissibility of resolutions are no longer adapted to the gigantism of our major companies, unlike in other major European financial centers (e.g. Germany, Sweden and the UK). At the same time, French institutional investors are increasingly obliged to direct the savings of French citizens towards companies that are virtuous in environmental, social and governance terms.

This lack of coherence poses a risk to the attractiveness of the Paris stock market and our major companies for a growing number of investors, who are in charge of the savings of French people who are increasingly keen to put their savings at the service of the ecological transition in particular. Facilitating the filing of resolutions will therefore create a climate of confidence in the future of our investors, by encouraging informed and calm shareholder dialogue on major strategic issues within our companies.