11/03/2026
France's Treasury Directorate is pushing the legal profession to build a credible self-regulatory framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing before key international deadlines hit. With the EU set to establish national supervisory authorities for legal and financial professions by 2027, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reviewing member countries' compliance mechanisms in 2028, French bar associations are racing against the clock. Note: in 2021, the FATF raised concerns about the ability of French lawyers to monitor their own firms, referring to the French annual self-assessment.
The debate has exposed deep fractures within the profession. The National Bar Council has proposed a three-step system involving annual self-assessments, a national oversight commission, and peer-conducted audits but the Treasury is pressing for that commission to have self-initiation powers when local bar leaders fail to act. While the Paris Bar's president backs this approach as essential to preserving attorney-client privilege and professional autonomy, the Conference of Bar Presidents argues self-initiation by a national body would be illegal under existing law and threatens the independence of local bars. Given the urgent need for consensus to satisfy both domestic regulators and international watchdogs, the unity of the profession and its ability to regulate itself are at stake.
