By Raphaël MORENON
25 March 2025
The public auction, with its characteristic ritual and the hammer that seals the deal, fascinates as much as it questions. The legal framework surrounding auctions has changed radically in recent years. Since 2011, the field has been liberalised, opening up new possibilities while maintaining the necessary framework. Recent developments in the law governing auctions The legal landscape for auctions underwent a major transformation with Law 2011-850 of 20 July 2011. This law abolished the long-standing ban on «making public auctions a customary procedure for carrying on one's business», which appeared in the former Article L.320-1 of the French Commercial Code. Under article L.321-1 of the French Commercial Code, «voluntary sales of furniture by public auction may involve new or second-hand goods». They may be conducted on a retail basis, by lot or wholesale. This development put an end to the monopoly...
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