When your debtor stalls with a weak excuse
A common pattern in cross-border B2B collection: the debtor doesn't deny owing the money outright, but suddenly raises a minor quality complaint, disputes a small portion of the invoice, or claims "cash-flow issues" — anything to buy time. If you had to wait for a full trial every time this happens, French justice would be far too slow to be useful. That is exactly the gap the référé-provision fills.
Référé is France's family of emergency judge procedures. The provision variant lets a single judge order the debtor to pay — provisionally, ahead of any final trial — whenever the objection raised does not hold up to scrutiny. The legal standard, worded identically in both possible courts, is that the obligation is not seriously disputed (l'obligation n'est pas sérieusement contestable):
- Article 873, alinéa 2 of the French Code of Civil Procedure — before the tribunal de commerce (your usual B2B forum)
- Article 835, alinéa 2 of the same code (formerly article 809, alinéa 2) — before the tribunal judiciaire, for non-merchant debtors
Is your case a good fit?
Good fit for référé-provision
A late-payment excuse repeated for months. A cosmetic quality complaint raised only after the formal notice arrived. A partial, pretextual dispute over a small fraction of an otherwise clear invoice. A debtor who acknowledged the debt in writing, then went quiet.
Not a fit — go to a full action instead
A genuine, substantiated dispute over defective goods or services, a real disagreement on contract scope, or any objection that requires the judge to weigh conflicting evidence in depth. A judge will decline to rule in référé if the matter is truly arguable both ways.
If the debt is not contested at all — no objection of any kind, just silence — the faster and cheaper route is usually a payment order (injonction de payer), which requires no hearing whatsoever. Référé-provision is specifically for the middle ground: contested on paper, but not seriously.
Process and realistic timeline
to D+6 wks
to D+15
- Summons drafted (assignation en référé) with a hearing date obtained from the court, then formally served on the debtor by a French judicial officer.
- Hearing before a single judge (the president of the court or a delegate), typically 2 to 6 weeks after filing depending on the court's calendar and urgency shown.
- Both sides argue, briefly and orally, backed by written submissions and exhibits filed in advance. There is no jury and, in most cases, no live witness examination.
- Order rendered, often the same day for straightforward matters, otherwise within one to two weeks.
- Immediately enforceable (exécution provisoire de plein droit) — you can start enforcement (bank garnishment, asset seizure) as soon as the order is served, even if the debtor appeals.
What "provisional" really means
A référé order does not carry the same finality as a judgment on the merits (it lacks autorité de la chose jugée au principal). In theory, the debtor keeps the right to bring the underlying dispute before a trial judge afterwards. In practice, once the order is enforced and the money is collected, a subsequent merits challenge is rare and difficult for the debtor to justify — and if the debtor genuinely intended to litigate the substance, most do so instead of, not after, a référé.
Référé orders carry a much shorter appeal window than an ordinary judgment — 15 days, against one month for a judgment on the merits. We monitor that deadline on your behalf. An appeal does not suspend enforcement: the order remains provisionally enforceable while the appeal is pending.
Frequently asked questions
The judge can still rule, provided the summons was properly served. A no-show by the debtor does not block your claim — it often results in a straightforward order in your favour.
Yes. The order typically includes the principal, statutory or contractual late-payment interest, and a costs award under Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure to offset part of your attorney fees.
Realistically 3 to 8 weeks from filing to an enforceable order, including service of the summons and the court's own calendar. This is dramatically faster than the 12 to 24 months a full action on the merits can take.
The judge will decline to grant a provision, in whole or in part, for the disputed portion. Nothing is lost: an undisputed part can still be awarded, and the rest can proceed to a full action on the merits if you choose to pursue it.
If there is any sign the debtor is moving assets or facing financial difficulty, yes — a pre-judgment asset freeze run in parallel prevents the account from being emptied before your référé order is enforced. For EU creditors, the European Account Preservation Order serves the same purpose.
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