crossing, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert, a 25% threshold of voting rights in an entity having its registered office in France; and (iii) developing activities in certain strategic industries related to: (a) activities likely to prejudice national defense interests, participating in the exercise of official authority or likely to prejudice public order and public security (including activities related to weapons, dual-use goods and technologies, IT systems, cryptology, data capturing devices, gambling, toxic agents or data storage), (b) activities relating to essential infrastructure, goods or services (including energy, water, transportation, space, telecom, public health, farm products or media), (c) research and development activities related to critical technologies (including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum technologies, energy storage or biotechnology) or dual-use goods and technologies, is subject to the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy, which authorization, if granted, may be subject to certain undertakings. This request for prior authorization must be filed with the French Ministry of Economy, which has 30 business days from receipt of the complete file to provide a first decision which may (i) unconditionally authorize the investment or (ii) indicate that further examination is required. In the latter case, the French Ministry of Economy must make a second decision within 45 business days from its first decision. In case of lack of response from the French Ministry of Economy within the above mentioned timeframe, the authorization will be deemed refused. If the authorization is granted, it may be subject to the signature of a letter of undertakings aimed at protecting the French national interests. If an investment requiring the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy is completed without such authorization having been granted, the French Minister of Economy might direct the relevant investor to (i) submit a request for authorization, (ii) have the previous situation restored at its own expense, or (iii) amend the investment. The relevant investor might also be found criminally liable and might be sanctioned with a fine which cannot exceed the greater of: (i) twice the amount of the relevant investment, (ii) 10% of the annual turnover before tax of the target company and (iii) €5 million (for a company) or €1 million (for an individual).
The French Monetary and Financial Code (CMF) provides for statistical reporting requirements. Transactions by which non-French residents acquire at least 10% of the share capital or voting rights, or cross the 10% threshold, of a French resident company, are considered as foreign direct investments in France and are subject to statistical reporting requirements (Articles R. 152-1; R.152-3 and R. 152-11 of the CMF). When the investment exceeds €12,500,000, companies must declare foreign transactions directly to the Banque de France within 20 business days following the date of certain direct foreign investments in us, including any purchase of ADSs. Failure to comply with such statistical reporting requirement may be sanctioned by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of a maximum amount equal to twice the amount which should have been reported, in accordance with Article L 165-1 of the CMF. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.
Certain Exemptions (US Law)
Under the U.S. securities laws, as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules that apply to domestic U.S. issuers with equity securities registered under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including the proxy solicitation rules and the rules requiring disclosure of share ownership by directors, officers and certain shareholders. We are also exempt from certain of the current Nasdaq corporate governance requirements. For more information on these exemptions, see Item 16.G, ‘‘Corporate Governance —Exemptions from Certain Nasdaq Corporate Governance Rules’’.
American Depositary Shares
The description below reflects certain terms of the deposit agreement, and summarizes the material rights of holders of our ADSs.
You may hold ADSs either directly or indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, you are an ADS holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. French law governs the rights of holders of our ordinary shares. The depositary will be the holder of the shares underlying your ADSs. As a holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the