August 7, 2025 – Paris
Ten years after France’s sweeping 2015 “Law for Growth and Activity” aimed at liberalising the legal professions, the Autorité de la concurrence has delivered a mixed verdict: the law has succeeded in opening up the market to new entrants, but its impact on regulated rates has fallen short of expectations.
In a detailed opinion published on July 31, the competition watchdog concluded that freedom of establishment—one of the reform’s central goals—has broadly met its objectives. The number of notary offices has surged by more than 50% since 2016, and there has been a significant rise in female and young practitioners across most regulated legal professions. However, the rate-setting reforms—intended to bring fees closer to actual costs—have not consistently lowered margins or improved transparency.
Market Opening Achieved, But Profitability Slow for Newcomers
The Autorité found that liberalisation encouraged women and younger graduates to enter the profession while preserving geographic coverage and the viability of pre-reform offices. Rural areas have not suffered significant closures, and digitalisation has reduced the need for in-person visits.
But profitability remains a hurdle: newly established offices typically take three to five years to break even, leaving some created in the most recent expansion rounds still struggling financially.
Key growth figures (2016–2023):
- Notaries: Offices +52%, practitioners +42%
- Lawyers at France’s highest courts: Offices +18%, practitioners +14%
- Former judicial auctioneers: Offices +13%, practitioners +7%
- Former court bailiffs: Offices +5%, practitioners –5%
The proportion of women in these professions has risen sharply, notably by 56% among notaries and over 50% in several other categories.
Regulated Rates: Modest Reductions, Limited Impact
The law sought to tie regulated fees more closely to actual production costs, encourage discounts, and cut surcharges in France’s overseas territories. While surcharges have been largely eliminated overseas, rate reductions have been modest and uneven:
- Notaries: –3.3% overall since 2016
- Former court bailiffs: –2.3%
- Former judicial auctioneers: –0.8%
- Commercial court registrars: –18.5%
Crucially, the Autorité noted that rate cuts often failed to reduce professionals’ profit margins, undermining the reform’s intent. Discounts remain rare despite being promoted as a tool for competition.
One measurable consumer gain has been in property transactions: between 2016 and 2023, buyers saved an estimated €612 million in notary fees thanks to rate reductions—about €76 million per year.
Recommendations for the Future
To strengthen the reform, the Autorité proposed:
- Extending freedom of establishment to Alsace-Moselle.
- Increasing transparency in how fees are calculated and contributions are allocated.
- Relaxing the 5% cap on rate cuts for highly profitable professions.
- Considering automatic, phased rate reductions to meet the French Commercial Code’s 20% profitability target.
- Reviewing rules on notaries’ legal monopoly and access to high-court legal professions.
The report also calls for better quality data from professional associations to improve future assessments, citing inconsistencies in the economic indicators currently provided.
The opinion, accompanied by extensive statistical analysis, marks the first decade-long review of one of France’s most significant legal services market reforms in recent history. It will now be considered by the government as it weighs further changes to the sector.
