Major reform is announced for a long time

A reform of the Royer law is inevitable, especially since Europe is now more demanding and heard it put end to a system it considers complex, opaque and bad reputation. Certainly, in 1973, Jean Royer, Mayor of Tours, anxious to protect shopkeepers to new forms of trade, including superstores, had proposed to Parliament to strictly regulate the establishment of hypermarkets and shopping centres opening. Thirty years later, it is clear that this Act has nothing prevented despite the legislative amendments made in 1990, 1993, 1996 and 2000, introducing each time more restrictions. In the 1980s, this Act was also unfortunately one of the tools of the financing of political activities by corruption. The device prior authorization and control of commercial settlements, although that réformé reformed in 1993, trails always this sulphurous reputation.

Major reform is announced for a long time. To do this, the Minister of SMEs, trade, crafts and Professions, Renaud Dutreil, implemented in October 2006 a modernization of commercial planning commission. The commission should make a report in January 2007 and propose reform proposals. Several tracks have been advanced including taking account of criteria other than simple economic criteria by the commissions to issue prior authorizations. But now it appears that a single law of commercial urbanism grooming will not suffice.

Lack of justifications

As for public development agreement, the European Commission has formally asked the France of changes in its regulations concerning the establishment of businesses. July 5, 2005, in a letter to the French Government, the Commission had already established that certain provisions of the Royer law were not compatible with article 43 of the Treaty on European Union on freedom of establishment and free provision of services. The Commission was especially involved the composition of the departmental commissions for commercial equipment (CDEC) called to issue permissions for commercial exploitation and in particular the increase in the weight of the representatives of the consular chambers within these commissions as well as the large number of information to be provided by the applicant of the authorization, and in particular the production of a study of economic and competitive impact.

However, the regulation have not been changed since then, the Commission has decided to move to the second phase of the infringement procedure under article 226 of the Treaty which provides that "If the Commission considers that a Member State has breached one of the obligations under this Treaty, it issues a reasoned opinion to this matter."After having developed this State in a position to submit its observations. "If the State in question does not conform to the notice within the period determined by the Commission, it may seize the Court of justice".

If the Commission recognizes that the objectives of protection of the environment and town planning, or the development of the territory are of general interest capable of justifying restrictions on the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the EC Treaty, it considers that the French procedure, which is based largely on considerations of an economic nature such as the impact of implementation on existing businesses is not justified and proportionate to the objectives of general interest pursued.

A directive States

The position of the European Commission is supported by the project of Community directive on services in the directive so-called internal market Bolkestein which prohibits "application in the case of an economic test to submit the granting of permission to the evidence of the existence of an economic need or demand of the market, to assess the economic effects potential or current activity." This project also adamantly consultation of consular Chambers for requests for individual permissions such as commercial permissions requests filed with the CDEC.