SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM IN FRANCE: TRENDS AND REFLECTIONS
Shareholder activism – the practice of using equity stakes to influence corporate behaviour – has long been associated with the Anglo-American corporate world. For decades, France’s legal and cultural environment appeared resistant to this phenomenon.
However, over the past 15 years, while there has been no legal recognition of shareholder activism, the landscape has evolved significantly, and the French legal community has expressed serious interests in the topic.
In the past five to six years, the French market has witnessed a steady increase in more assertive forms of activism, particularly in listed companies where ownership is fragmented and governance perceived as misaligned with performance.
This shift has been supported by growing international investor presence, increased public scrutiny of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and a broader global movement toward shareholder empowerment.
In France as elsewhere, shareholder activism remains controversial, and its merits are debated both in legal circles and corporate boardrooms.
On the one hand activism holds management accountable for underperformance or governance failures, can help promote transparency, efficiency and responsiveness to shareholder concerns, may encourage better ESG practices and alignment with long-term value creation, and give voice to minority shareholders and fosters more democratic governance.
On the other hand, some forms of shareholder activism may bear risks for the company, when shareholders prioritise short-term financial gains over sustainable strategy, or push for a self-serving agenda. Management teams can be destabilised, which in turn creates uncertainty and erodes stakeholder trust.
Jul-Sep 2025 issue
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP