PART 1 – FRANCE: LEADER IN EUROPE SINCE 2011The so-called “Cope-Zimmermann” law, n° 2011-103 of January 27, 2011 relating to the balanced representation of women and of men on boards of directors and supervisory boards, places France among European leaders in the fight against gender inequalities. Following a proposal from Jean-François Copé, Marie-Jo Zimmermann, Christian Jacob and Michèle Tabarot, the law was promulgated on January 27, 2011 and published in the Official Journal of January 28, 2011. The “Copé-Zimmermann” law provides for sanctions obligatory. provisions (§1) that must be respected by companies falling within its scope (§2).§1 – Mandatory provisions of the Copé-Zimmermann legislationThe Copé-Zimmermann law provides for several provisions on diversity (A) and sanctions in case of violation of these provisions (B).A – The various provisions on gender disparity introduced by the Copé-Zimmermann legislationBeyond compulsory quotas (1), the Copé-Zimmermann legislation also introduces rules concerning the gap maximum between the number of directors of each sex (2).1 – A mandatory quota of at least 40% of each sex The Copé-Zimmermann legislation strictly speaking does not provide for 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 concerning the board of directors, L. 225-69-1 and L. 226-4-1 C. com regarding the supervisory board of a dualistic management structure). However, it appears from the preparatory work that women are specifically targeted. Some expressed regret about the 40% threshold and would have preferred complete equality with a 50% threshold. It is true that initiation......middle of paper......nce reached 26.8%. In addition to these progressive provisions, there are immediately applicable provisions.2 – Directly applicable measuresFirst of all, the boards have the obligation to annually examine the company's policy on professional equality between the sexes. Some MPs would have preferred a fixed result obligation rather than a simple obligation to consider company policy annually. Second, companies have a duty to “seek balanced representation of each gender on their boards.” If the ANSA legal committee considers that this is a general principle without any legal force, for others, this provision is imperative. Each time a company appoints a new director, it has an obligation to demonstrate that it has fulfilled its obligation to seek balanced representation on its board of directors...