Article 698-2 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure
The civil action for compensation for damage caused by one of the offences mentioned in the first paragraph of articles 697-1 or 697-4 belongs to those who have personally suffered damage directly caused by the offence. The public action may be brought by the injured party under the conditions determined in articles 85 et seq. However, public prosecution may only be initiated by the public prosecutor in the case of…