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Abstract
French law does not prescribe a specific legal form for joint ventures (JV). Accordingly, they may be organized either as unregistered businesses or as registered partnerships or corporations. JVs in France involving non-French parties may require the filing of a foreign investment application with the Direction du Tresor, depending upon the type of investment being made by the non-French party. An issue that often arises when drafting JV contracts in France is whether to include the terms of agreement between the parties in the Articles of Association of the JV entity or in a separate contract. In order to ensure enforcement of such terms, it is generally preferable to have them written into the Articles of Association. Agreements requiring that the shareholders of a JV entity vote their shares in a certain way may not be enforceable. French law does provide certain protection to minority shareholders. French law and the French courts generally recognize the validity of arbitration clauses in JV agreements and the enforceability of awards granted by arbitrators.