Each director standing down shall be eligible for reappointment.
2) Directors representing employees
In accordance with the law, one employee representative director shall be designated by the trade union body which is the most representative, within the meaning of the applicable legislation, in the Company and those of its direct or indirect subsidiaries that have their registered office in French territory, and one director shall be designated by the European Works Council.
An employee representative director shall hold office for a term of four years. His term of office shall end at the close of the Shareholders’ General Meeting held during the calendar year in which his term of office expires to approve the financial statements for the previous financial year.
If the Company is no longer subject to an obligation to appoint one or more employee representatives to the Board of Directors, the term of office of the employee representative(s) shall end automatically with no other formalities at the close of the meeting of the Board of Directors which formally notes that the Company no longer falls within the scope of such obligation.
Article 12 - Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors shall appoint from among its members a Chairman, who must be a natural person. Except in the circumstances specified in article 16 when he or she also assumes the function of Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman may hold office for the duration of his or her term of office as director, under the conditions laid down in article 11.1 paragraph 2 above.
The Board may appoint from among its members a Vice-Chairman, who must be a natural person less than 70 years of age.
They may be appointed for their entire term of office as directors.
In the event of the temporary incapacity, resignation, death or non-reappointment of the Chairman, the Board of Directors may delegate another director to act as chairman. In the event of temporary incapacity, such delegation shall be given for a limited period and shall be renewable. In other cases, it shall be valid until a new Chairman is appointed.
The Chairman shall organise and direct the work of the Board, and be accountable for this to the Shareholders’ General Meeting.
He shall ensure that the company’s organs of management operate properly and in particular that the directors are capable of fulfilling their duties.
Article 13 - Deliberations of the Board
The Board of Directors shall meet as often as required by the interests of the company, either at the registered office or at any other place indicated in the notice of the meeting. The Chairman may notify the directors of meetings of the Board of Directors by any means, even orally.
Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or in his absence by the Vice-Chairman. If the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are both absent, the Board of Directors shall appoint, for each meeting, a member who will chair the meeting.
Decisions shall be taken on the quorum and majority conditions stipulated by law.
The secretary of the Board of Directors shall be authorised to certify copies of and extracts from minutes of Board meetings as a true record.