The regulatory battle against bribery and corruption isn't
one French businesses have ever been able to sit out.
Those operating abroad have long been subject to international
regulations. Indeed, French groups have been amongst the recipients
of some of the biggest penalties under the United States Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act.
This might be partly why France implemented its own rules
through the Sapin II anti-corruption law. When the law took effect
in 2016, France belatedly joined other countries, such as the
United Kingdom, that have passed domestic legislation on the issue
in the last decade.
The law establishes a criminal settlement procedure and extends
the extraterritorial application of French criminal law to
international corruption. It also instructed French businesses with
500 or more employees and a turnover greater than €100 million
to implement a program by June 2017 to prevent and detect
corruption. Penalties for failures under the law are up to
