By Raphaël MORENON
17 July 2025
Under French law, the principle is clear: movable property cannot be mortgaged. This rule, summarised by the adage "meubles n'ont pas de suite par hypothèque", is justified by the very nature of these assets. Their mobility makes it difficult, if not impossible, to organise a reliable publicity system to inform third parties of the existence of a security interest. In addition, the protection of bona fide purchasers, enshrined in article 2276 of the Civil Code, which states that "in the case of movable property, possession is equivalent to title", is an obstacle to the right of resale, an essential prerogative of any mortgage. However, given the growing economic importance of certain movable assets, the legislator has had to create exceptions. For high-value assets that are sufficiently individualised and identifiable to allow some form of registration, special movable mortgage systems have been introduced. These special securities mainly concern ships, inland waterway vessels and aircraft. They...
EN 
FR