Introduction

Existence of a claim

Issuance of enforcement order (writs of execution)

Existence of seizable assets or claims

Conditions of enforcement

Judicial authority

Other authorities

Competent authorities and persons

Operations

Difficulties in enforcement

Implementation of compulsory enforcement

General regime of enforcement procedures

Concept of penalty

Scope ratione personae

Material scope

Determination of penalty

Competence of judge

Powers of court

Effects of ruling ordering or rejecting penalty

Pronouncement of penalty

Substantive conditions

Procedural conditions

Role and powers of the judge

Effects of liquidation judgment

Liquidation of the penalty

Penalty

Conditions of implementation

Contesting the measures

Ordinary law on protective measures

Protective seizures

Judicial security interests (sûretés judiciaires)

Specific regimes

Interim protective measures (mesures conservatoires)

Seizure of claims for sums of money

Seizure of tangible movable property

Seizure of intangible rights

Enforcement measures on movable property

Real estate seizures

Evictions

Enforcement measures on real estate

Enforcement measures

5. Civil Enforcement Procedures

The attachment of wages is also exempt from the general regime of garnishment of monetary claims, due to the subsistence nature of wages and the resulting necessity to protect a portion of them to ensure the debtor's livelihood. It has long been subject to special rules, set out in the current Articles L. 3252-1 to L. 3252-13 of the Labor Code, to which Article L. 212-1 of the Code of Civil Enforc …

Subsistence earnings

The attachment of wages is also exempt from the general regime of garnishment of monetary claims, due to the subsistence nature of wages and the resulting necessity to protect a portion of them to ensure the debtor's livelihood. It has long been subject to special rules, set out in the current Articles L. 3252-1 to L. 3252-13 of the Labor Code, to which Article L. 212-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures refers. Like ordinary garnishment, the attachment of wages occurs within the framework of tripartite relationships between a creditor, their debtor, the employee, and the latter's employer, the third-party garnishee.

Pursuant to Article L. 3252-1, the special regime applies to amounts owed as remuneration to any person employed or working, in any capacity or location, for one or more employers, regardless of the amount and nature of their remuneration or the form and nature of their contract. All amounts considered as remuneration, excluding those of a compensatory nature, which Article L. 3252-3, para. 3, deems unseizable, fall under this provision. Seizable are the amount of remuneration, its ancillary elements, and the value of benefits in kind, after deduction of mandatory social contributions and withholding tax. In addition to unseizable indemnities, amounts allocated as reimbursement of expenses incurred by the worker and allowances or indemnities for family expenses are not covered. The retirement severance pay given to an employee who voluntarily leaves the company to benefit from the right to an old-age pension, not intended to compensate for a loss, constitutes remuneration subject to the seizure rules provided by the Labor Code . The same applies to pensions and annuities, including those provided by complementary retirement institutions .

In view of their subsistence nature, Article L. 5232-2 provides that amounts owed as remuneration are only seizable or transferable in proportions and according to remuneration thresholds adjusted for each dependent, as determined by Articles R. 3252-2 and following. Pursuant to these texts, the proportion in which amounts owed as remuneration are seizable or transferable is set:

1° at one-twentieth, on the bracket less than or equal to EUR 4,370;

2° at one-tenth, on the bracket above EUR 4,370 and less than or equal to EUR 8,520;

3° at the fifth, on the bracket above EUR 8,520 and less than or equal to EUR 12,690 ;

4° a quarter, on the tranche over EUR 12,690 and less than or equal to EUR 16,820;

5° for the third party, on the portion exceeding EUR 16,820 and less than or equal to EUR 20,970;

6° two-thirds, on the portion exceeding EUR 20,970 and less than or equal to EUR 25,200 euros;

7° at the total, on the portion exceeding EUR 25,200.

These thresholds are increased by an amount of EUR 1,690 per dependent of the seized debtor or the assignor, upon justification presented by the interested party . They are revised annually based on the change in the consumer price index, excluding tobacco, for urban households whose head is a worker or employee, as set in August of the previous year in the nationwide series, and rounded up to the nearest ten euros. As in the case of ordinary law  third-party seizure (saisie-attribution), Article R. 5232-5 specifies that the amount left at the disposal of the employee whose remuneration is subject to seizure or assignment must be equal to the amount of the RSA (Revenu de solidarité active : social welfare benefit aimed at providing a minimum level of income). However, these thresholds do not apply when the creditor is pursuing the recovery of a maintenance debt: in this case, Article L. 3252-5 indicates that the measure may extend to the entirety of the remuneration and concerns the current monthly term and the last six unpaid months of alimony or the last twenty-four months when the family benefits paying agency acts on behalf of the creditor, provided that an amount equal to the RSA is reserved.

The seizure procedure must be preceded by a conciliation phase, under penalty of invalidity . Pursuant to Article R. 3252-13, the creditor's application must be made by a motion submitted or sent to the court registry containing, under penalty of invalidity : the name and address of the debtor's employer; a separate breakdown of the amounts claimed in principal , costs, and accrued interest, as well as the indication of the interest rate; details regarding the payment methods of the seized amounts and a copy of the writ of execution . The court clerk then summons the debtor to the hearing, at least fifteen days before it is held, indicating, in particular, the name of the creditor, the place, date, and time of the conciliation attempt, the subject of the application, and the statement of the amounts claimed, with a separate breakdown of the principal, costs, and accrued interest, warning that any objections must be raised at this hearing and that a late objection will not suspend the seizure proceedings . On the day of the hearing, the judge attempts to reconcile the parties . If an agreement is reached, the procedure is closed, with the proviso that if the debtor subsequently fails to meet the commitments made at the hearing, the creditor may request the registry to proceed with the seizure without further conciliation . If conciliation fails or if the debtor does not appear, the seizure is carried out after the judge has verified the amount of the claim in principal, interest, and costs and, if applicable, resolved any objections raised by the debtor .

Unlike ordinary law seizure by garnishment, the seizure of wages is carried out not by a judicial commissioner, but by the court registry of the Judicial Court acting as the enforcement judge , within eight days, based on the non-conciliation report . The seizure document, which is notified to the employer by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, must contain: the name, first name, and domicile of the debtor and the creditor or, if it is a legal entity, its name and registered office; a separate breakdown of the amounts for which the seizure is made, in principal, costs, and accrued interest, as well as the indication of the interest rate; the method of calculating the seizable portion and the terms of its payment; the injunction to make the declaration provided for in Article L. 3252-9 to the registry within fifteen days; and the reproduction of Articles L. 3252-9 and L. 3252-10. Pursuant to Article L. 3252-9, the employer must declare the legal situation existing between themselves and the seized debtor, as well as any assignments, seizures, administrative seizures by third-party holder, or direct payment of maintenance claims that may be in progress. They have a maximum period of fifteen days from the notification of the seizure document , unlike the ordinary law third-party garnishee who must comply immediately. The third-party employer garnishee who fails without legitimate reason to make this declaration or makes a false declaration may be ordered by the judge to pay a civil fine of up to EUR 10,000, without prejudice to an order for damages and an order for the amount of withholdings they should have made on the debtor's wages .

The conduct of the seizure procedure can be disrupted by various events (incidents). This is the case with the notification to the employer of an administrative seizure by a third-party holder concerning a claim secured by the Treasury's privilege, which has the effect of suspending the course of the seizure until the debtor's obligation is extinguished . Similarly, in the event of notification of a direct payment request for a maintenance claim, the employer is required to pay the debtor the portion of the salary corresponding to the amount of the RSA and to pay the maintenance creditor the sums owed to them. If these sums do not exceed the unseizable portion of the salary, the employer gives the remainder to the debtor. The employer must continue to pay the court registry the seizable portion of the salary, after deducting, if applicable, the sums paid to the maintenance creditor .

When there is only one seizing creditor, the employer sends a sum equal to the seizable portion of the salary to the court registry every month, by means of a check made out according to the instructions provided by the registry. Upon receipt, and after noting it in the file, the clerk sends this check to the creditor or their representative. If the employer proceeds by transfer, they must provide proof to the registry of the date and amount of the transfer .

In contrast to ordinary law seizure-attribution, the seizure of wages does not result in the immediate attribution of the salary claim to the seizing party, so that the latter may find themselves in competition with other creditors. Article L. 3252-8 resolves these conflicts by specifying that in the event of multiple seizures, creditors compete subject to legitimate causes of preference and the priority given to claims of an amount less than EUR 500 .

A claim from another creditor may be raised by way of intervention in the ongoing proceedings if the creditor holds a writ of execution, without needing to justify a prior attempt at conciliation . In such a case, after the enforcement judge has verified the amount, including principal, interest, and costs, of the new claim subject to intervention, the court clerk must notify the debtor and the creditors who are parties to the proceedings of this intervention and inform the employer that payments must now be made to the order of the manager appointed at the registry of the Judicial Court or, if applicable, one of its local chambers . However, the existence of a competition may also arise from the prior assignment of the debtor's wage claim. In such a case, the court clerk must notify the assignee of the seizure, inform them that pursuant to Article L. 3252-12, they now compete with the seizing party for the distribution of the seized amounts, and invite them to provide a statement of the remaining amount owed. The court clerk must also inform the employer that payments must now be made to the order of the manager.

The distribution of the amounts paid to the manager is carried out at least every six months, unless in the meantime, the amounts reach a sufficient level to satisfy the creditors . The court clerk notifies each creditor of the distribution statement. If an intervention has been contested, the amounts due to the intervening creditor are deposited. They are handed over to them if the contestation is rejected. Otherwise, they are distributed to the creditors or returned to the debtor as the case may be . The distribution statement can be contested within fifteen days of its notification. If no challenge is made within this period, the court clerk sends each creditor a check for the amount due to them. In case of contestation, the payment of the amounts due to the creditors is made after the judge has ruled on the contestation .

The release of the seizure results either from an agreement of the creditors or from the court's acknowledgment of the extinction of the debt. It is notified to the employer within eight days .

Cass. soc., 30 January 2008, LawLex202300003934JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 16 March 2000, LawLex202300003936JBJ.

C. trav., Art. R. 3252-19, paras. 2 and 3. - See Cass. 2e civ., 16 December 2004, LawLex202300011742JBJ, specifying that the judgment authorizing the seizure does not need to establish that the preliminary attempt at conciliation took place, mention the identity of the employer, or determine the proportions in which the remuneration is seizable, as these are set by law.

Labor Code, Art. L. 3252-9, L. 3252-10, para. 3, and R. 3252-25.

Labor Code, Art. R. 3252-30. - See also, Art. R. 3252-38, para. 3, which equates the administrative seizure by third-party holder related to a claim not secured by the public treasury privilege to an intervention.

Cass. 2e civ., 19 September 2002, LawLex202300011744JBJ, specifying that this correction applies even in the case of direct payment proceedings initiated by an alimony creditor.

Cass. 2e civ., 26 June 2014, LawLex202300011741JBJ, excluding the sanction of inadmissibility.

See, on the possibility of regularization, Cass. 2e civ., 26 June 2014, LawLex202300011741JBJ.

Cass. 2e civ., 2 May 2024, LawLex202400003635JBJ, emphasizing that since the debtor must be informed before the conciliation hearing of the subject of the application and the status of the amounts claimed, the creditor cannot substitute another writ of execution for the one attached to their application.

5. Civil Enforcement Procedures

125. Subsistence earnings

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125. Subsistence earnings

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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