Except in the cases listed in the Conseil d’Etat decree provided for in article L. 3324-10, shares or units acquired on behalf of employees and former employees are delivered to them at the end of a minimum period of five years from the date of acquisition of the securities.
This period does not apply if the liquidation of assets acquired under the company savings plan is used to purchase company shares or to exercise options granted under the conditions set out in articles L. 225-177, L. 22-10-56 or L. 225-179 of the French Commercial Code. Company shares subscribed or purchased in this way are paid into the savings plan and are not available until at least five years after the date of payment. However, the shares may be contributed to a company or a mutual fund whose assets are exclusively made up of equity securities or securities giving access to capital issued by the company or by a company in the same group within the meaning of the second paragraph of article L. 3344-1. The five-year period mentioned in this paragraph remains applicable, for the period remaining on the date of the contribution, to the shares or units received as consideration for the contribution.