On September 25th, the lower house of the French parliament initiated a debate about a legal proposal which holds some core changes for the country’s legal framework for crypto assets and ICOs.
The initiative came last June by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire along with proposals focused on nurturing the development of “liberated companies that are better funded, more innovative and fairer.”
Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation
Plan d’Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises (PACTE) is envisioned to pull France closer to the countries which have already devised a friendly legal wireframe for the innovative fintech solutions.
The plan already passed through the first phases for the approval.
After the introduction, first consultation, online public consultation, consultations with unions and professional federations, it is now being presented to the Council of Ministers.
If the Council of Ministers gives the green light, Plan d’Action will be reviewed by the parliament, and, if it satisfies, promulgated by the official proclamation.
The Birth of New Terminology and Explanations
If the plan is to be accepted by the government’s bodies, it will bring some new definitions and terminology.
Cryptocurrency tokens are defined as “immaterial items, representing in digital form one or more rights, which could be issued, compiled, kept and transferred through a digital shared instrument, allowing to identify — directly or indirectly — its owner.”
And ICOs got a more simple explanation which says that they are “public offerings for tokens subscriptions, in whatever form.”
AMF Will Issue “ICO Quality Certificates”
Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF, French Financial Market Authority), according to the plan, will be issuing a form of non-obligatory certificates for the ICOs which want to enhance their trustworthiness.
This process will not be legally required, but the company applying for it should produce a promotional document (whitepaper) presenting contents which are “exact, clear, not misleading, and allow understanding of risks involved in the offer.”
The AMF also wants to monitor the means which are to be implemented to guarantee the security and the transparency of the token issuing event for those who apply for their certificate.
The French financial watchdog will closely watch information about the results of the ICO and the creation of a secondary market for the tokens.
How Close is France to New Crypto Legislation?
Even though the plan already passed through the majority of approval steps, the main ones are still to come as both houses of parliament have to accept the same version of the document for it to be implemented.
However the proposition will end up, France showed the willingness to change its legislation in accordance with the technological innovations.
By making it easier for entrepreneurs to develop projects under the friendly legislation wing, France could compete with the likes of Switzerland, Malta, Gibraltar, and Cyprus, which have already attracted cryptocurrency and blockchain industry’s giants to their shores.