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Article L5125-12 of the French Public Health Code

Any pharmacist who is a partner in a company operating a pharmacy and who carries out his activity there must directly hold a fraction of the share capital and the associated voting rights. In a general partnership, a limited liability partnership or a private limited company (société d’exercice libéral à responsabilité limitée), they may also, if the articles of association so provide, be allocated industrial shares. Industrial partnership status is…

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Article L5125-13 of the French Public Health Code

An assistant pharmacist working exclusively in a pharmacy operated by a société d’exercice libéral may hold, directly or through a société de participations financières de profession libérale that he controls, a fraction of the capital of this société d’exercice libéral representing up to 10% of the latter. The associate pharmacist associated with the private limited company operating the pharmacy in which he works continues to work under an employment contract…

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Article L5125-14 of the French Public Health Code

No agreement relating to the ownership of a pharmacy is valid unless it has been recorded in writing. A copy of the agreement must be filed with the regional pharmacists’ association and with the head office of the regional health agency. Any stipulation intended to establish that ownership or co-ownership of a pharmacy belongs to an unqualified person is null and void.

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Article L5125-15 of the French Public Health Code

The pharmacist who is the proprietor of a pharmacy must practise his profession personally. The implementation of the provisions of article L. 5125-7-1 does not prevent the proprietor from practising his profession personally. In all circumstances, medicinal products must be prepared by a pharmacist, or under the direct supervision of a pharmacist. The pharmacist in charge of the pharmacy is assisted by assistant pharmacists depending on the overall activity of…

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Article L5125-16 of the French Public Health Code

A pharmacy may only remain open in the absence of its proprietor if the latter has been duly replaced. The annex mentioned in article L. 5125-7-1 may not remain open to the public in the absence of a pharmacist. The legal duration of a replacement may not, under any circumstances, exceed one year. However, in the event of national service or being called up for military service, this period is…

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Article L5125-17 of the French Public Health Code

An on-call service is organised to meet the needs of the public outside the normal opening hours of pharmacies in a given area. An emergency service is organised to respond to urgent requests outside the normal opening hours of these pharmacies. All pharmacies in the area, with the exception of those referred to in article L. 5125-10, are required to participate in these services, unless otherwise decided by order of…

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Article L5125-18 of the French Public Health Code

Any creation of a new pharmacy, any transfer of a pharmacy from one location to another and any grouping of pharmacies are subject to the granting of a licence issued by the Director General of the Regional Health Agency under the conditions set out in Articles L. 5125-3, L. 5125-3-1, L. 5125-3-2, L. 5125-3-3, L. 5125-4 and L. 5125-5. In the case of a transfer or grouping of pharmacies from…

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Article L5125-19 of the French Public Health Code

Authorisation for the creation, transfer or grouping of pharmacies does not take effect until three months have elapsed from notification of the authorisation order. At the end of the three-month period, the pharmacy whose creation, transfer or grouping with another pharmacy has been authorised must be effectively open to the public within two years of notification of the licence order. This period may be extended by the Director General of…

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Article L5125-20 of the French Public Health Code

Subject to the provisions of Article L. 5125-4, applications for authorisation to merge have priority over applications to transfer. Applications for transfer authorisations are given priority over applications for new pharmacies. For the opening of a pharmacy in a new commune or in communes mentioned in article L. 5125-6-1, priority is given, in compliance with article L. 5125-3 and the first paragraph of this article, to applications submitted by pharmacies…

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Article L5125-21 of the French Public Health Code

The licence may not be transferred by its holder(s) independently of the business to which it relates. A pharmacy may be transferred in the course of receivership or compulsory liquidation proceedings. The licence is considered to have lapsed as from the date of the judgment closing the business on the grounds of insufficient assets or, as the case may be, the discharge of liabilities.

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