Article 206 of the Law of 6 August 2015, known as the Macron Law, amended the wording of Article L526-1 of the French Commercial Code as follows:
« By way of derogation from Articles 2284 and 2285 of the French Civil Code, the rights of a natural person registered in a legal publicity register of a professional nature or exercising an agricultural or independent professional activity over the property where his or her main residence is established are automatically unseizable by creditors whose rights arise in connection with the person’s professional activity. The fact that the person resides in his or her residential premises in accordance with article L. 123-10 of this code does not prevent the premises from being exempt from seizure by operation of law, without the need for a descriptive statement of division. »
The main residence is exempt from seizure by operation of law, provided the debts are business debts.
Protection ceases for non-business debts (debts inherent to family life, debts relating to the acquisition or renovation of the main residence, etc.).
As case law currently stands, it is established that the liquidator, who represents all the creditors, cannot sell the debtor’s main residence in the event of a judicial liquidation.
However, this does not seem to be the case for creditors who are not bound by the exemption from seizure clause and who may, according to the latest decisions, seize the property and have it sold notwithstanding the opening of a judicial liquidation procedure.
It is possible for the debtor to waive the exemption from seizure in order to allow the property to be sold as part of the judicial liquidation.
