CSRD in France
France abolished its criminal CSRD penalties on 2 May 2025 through loi 2025-391. What remains is administrative and disciplinary enforcement through the H2A and the AMF, plus court injunction. The €10 million figure often attributed to France comes from the 2017 Loi de Vigilance, a separate statute.
In forceDisclosure & reportingChecked 9 August 2026Our EI can make mistakes — check important info.
- In force from
- 2024-01-01
- Transposition
- Transposed
- Instrument
- Ordinance 2023-1142, as amended by loi 2025-391
- Maximum on the undertaking
- No figure traced to a primary source
- No fine on the report itself — administrative and disciplinary enforcement (H2A, AMF) plus court injunction
- Authority
- H2A / AMF / courts
Where do these figures come from?
The criminal penalties no longer exist
Most comparison tables still list France at €30,000 / €75,000 with imprisonment. Loi 2025-391 (DDADUE 5), published in the Journal Officiel on 2 May 2025, repeals the 2° of article L. 821-6 and the whole of article L. 822-40 of the code de commerce — read in the enacted text, and L. 822-40 no longer appears in the in-force code. France now enforces through administrative and disciplinary measures and injunction: there is no fine on the report itself.
France transposed CSRD through Ordinance 2023-1142, applying from 1 January 2024. The criminal penalties it originally created — up to €30,000 and two years' imprisonment for failing to appoint a sustainability auditor, and up to €75,000 and five years for obstructing assurance work — were abolished by loi 2025-391 (JO 2 May 2025). Enforcement now runs through administrative and disciplinary channels (the H2A and the AMF) and court injunction. The same law defers wave 2 to FY2027 and wave 3 to FY2028.
What did loi 2025-391 change?
Ordinance 2023-1142 protected the assurance process with criminal offences: appointing the sustainability auditor and not obstructing assurance work. Loi 2025-391 removed those offences from 2 May 2025, repealing the 2° of article L. 821-6 and the whole of article L. 822-40 of the code de commerce.
One limit worth stating: the repeal is traced to the statute, but the two amounts often quoted for the abolished offences — €30,000 and €75,000 — are not. They come from reporting of the pre-2025 text rather than a line-read of it. Nothing turns on them here, because what replaced them is not a fine at all.
What remains is administrative and disciplinary enforcement through the H2A (the audit regulator) and the AMF for listed companies, plus the ability to seek a court injunction to compel publication.
Loi de Vigilance and CSRD
The Loi de Vigilance's €10 million civil fine is a separate 2017 statute. A company subject to one is not automatically subject to the other, and it was never the CSRD penalty.
What are the penalties?
No criminal or administrative fine on the report. Administrative and disciplinary enforcement plus injunction.
Criminal penalties — abolished 2 May 2025
The €30,000 / 2-year failure-to-appoint and €75,000 / 5-year obstruction offences were abolished by loi 2025-391 (JO 2 May 2025).
Administrative and disciplinary enforcement
No fine on the report itself — administrative and disciplinary enforcement (H2A, AMF) plus court injunction
Waves deferred
Loi 2025-391 defers wave 2 to FY2027 and wave 3 to FY2028.
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Common questions
- What is the CSRD penalty in France?
- There is no fine on the report. The criminal penalties France originally created were abolished by loi 2025-391 on 2 May 2025; enforcement now runs through administrative and disciplinary measures (H2A, AMF) and court injunction.
- Does France still imprison directors for CSRD breaches?
- No. The criminal offences — up to two years for failing to appoint a sustainability auditor and up to five years for obstructing assurance — were abolished by loi 2025-391, published in the Journal Officiel on 2 May 2025.
- Does France fine companies €10 million under CSRD?
- No. That figure belongs to the 2017 Loi de Vigilance, a separate statute, and is frequently misattributed to CSRD.
- Where can I read the full text of FR CSRD?
- The authoritative version is the official text: CSRD in France. The full text is linked in the "Read the original document" section on this page. This page summarises the obligations; the official text governs.
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