PART 1 – FRANCE: LEADER IN EUROPE SINCE 2011The so-called “Copé-Zimmermann” law, n. 2011-103 of 27 January 2011 on balanced gender representation on boards of directors and supervisory boards, places France among the leaders in Europe in the fight against gender inequality. On the proposal of Jean-François Copé, Marie-Jo Zimmermann, Christian Jacob and Michèle Tabarot, the law was enacted on 27 January 2011 and published in the Official Journal of 28 January 2011. The “Copé-Zimmermann” law provides for the obligation to provisions (§1) that companies that fall within its scope of application must comply with (§2).§1 – The mandatory provisions of the Copé-Zimmermann legislationThe Copé-Zimmermann Law provides for various provisions on gender imbalance (A) and sanctions in case of violation of these provisions (B).A – The different provisions on gender imbalance introduced by the Copé-Zimmermann legislationIn addition to mandatory quotas (1), the Copé-Zimmermann legislation also introduces rules relating to the maximum difference between the number of directors of each gender (2).1 – A mandatory quota of at least 40% for each genderThe legislation Copé-Zimmermann strictly speaking does not envisage a mandatory quota of 40% of women in French companies, but rather a representation of at least 40% of each gender (art. L. 225-18-1 C.com regarding the board of directors, L. 225-69-1 and L. 226-4-1 C.com regarding the supervisory board of a dual management structure) . However, preparatory work shows that it is mainly women who are targeted. Some expressed their regret about the 40% threshold and would have preferred complete equality with a 50% threshold. It is true that the beginning...... middle of the document ......nce reached 26.8%. In addition to these progressive provisions, immediately applicable provisions are added.2 – Directly applicable measuresFirst of all, the boards have the obligation to annually examine the company policy on professional equality between the sexes. Some MPs would have preferred an obligation to achieve a fixed result (“Obligation de résultat”) rather than a simple obligation to consider company policy annually. Second, companies have a duty to “seek balanced representation of each sex on their boards of directors.” While for the ANSA legal commission it is a general principle with no legal value, for others the provision is imperative. Every time a company appoints a new director, it has the obligation to demonstrate that it has fulfilled its obligation (“Obligation de moyen”) to seek balanced representation of its board of directors.