One rule, two registers
Legal texts must leave nothing open. So they replace everyday linking words with fixed phrases that allow exactly one reading. To write a declaration, an appeal or a clause yourself, you need only a handful of these phrases, but you need them exactly right.
Courant and juridique
Courant
Vous pouvez sous-louer si le propriétaire est d'accord.
You can sublet if the landlord agrees.
Juridique
La sous-location est autorisée sous réserve de l'accord écrit du bailleur.
Subletting is permitted subject to the landlord's written consent.
The load-bearing phrases
Phrase, meaning, what follows
| Phrase | English | Followed by |
|---|---|---|
| sous réserve de | subject to | + noun; sous réserve que + subjunctive |
| nonobstant | notwithstanding | + noun, no de |
| aux fins de | for the purpose of | + noun or infinitive |
| à défaut de | failing, in the absence of | + noun or infinitive |
| à compter de | with effect from, as of | + date or event |
| le cas échéant | where applicable | moves freely in the sentence |
| ci-après dénommé | hereinafter referred to as | + short name in « » |
In clauses
Nonobstant toute clause contraire, le préavis est de trois mois.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the notice period is three months.
This clause takes precedence.
Vos données sont conservées aux fins de gestion de votre dossier.
Your data is stored for the purpose of managing your file.
Typical of privacy notices.
À défaut de paiement dans un délai de quinze jours, le contrat sera résilié de plein droit.
Failing payment within fifteen days, the contract will be terminated automatically.
Deadline and consequence in one sentence.
À compter du 1er janvier, le loyer est porté à 850 euros, charges comprises.
With effect from 1 January, the rent is raised to 850 euros, service charges included.
Effective date.
Le salarié restitue, le cas échéant, le véhicule de fonction.
The employee returns the company car, where applicable.
Only applies if there is one.
Obligation without a modal
French legal texts have no equivalent of shall. The present indicative carries the obligation: Le locataire paie le loyer does not describe what the tenant does but what the tenant must do. For extra force there are two fixed formulas.
Three ways to state a duty
Le locataire acquitte le loyer avant le 5 de chaque mois.
The tenant shall pay the rent before the 5th of each month.
Present as obligation.
Le locataire est tenu de signaler tout dégât des eaux.
The tenant is required to report any water damage.
Explicit duty.
Il appartient au demandeur de fournir les justificatifs.
It is the applicant's responsibility to provide the supporting documents.
Assigns responsibility to one party.
Writing a declaration yourself
You will need an attestation sur l'honneur for landlords, authorities and employers. It follows a fixed frame. Je soussigné means “I, the undersigned” and agrees with you: soussignée for a woman.
The frame
- 1
Identity
Je soussigné(e) + name, né(e) le … à …, demeurant + address
- 2
Declaration
atteste sur l'honneur + infinitive or que + indicative
- 3
Closing formula
Fait pour servir et valoir ce que de droit.
- 4
Place, date, signature
Fait à + place, le + date
The building blocks in full
Je soussignée Claire Martin, née le 4 mai 1988 à Nantes, demeurant 12 rue des Lilas, 69003 Lyon,
I, the undersigned Claire Martin, born on 4 May 1988 in Nantes, residing at 12 rue des Lilas, 69003 Lyon,
atteste sur l'honneur héberger à titre gratuit M. Paul Durand depuis le 1er mars.
solemnly declare that I have been providing free accommodation to Mr Paul Durand since 1 March.
Fait pour servir et valoir ce que de droit.
Issued for all legal purposes.
Fixed formula with no word-for-word translation.
An attestation sur l'honneur is close to a statutory declaration, but nobody witnesses it: you simply sign. Making a false one is still a criminal offence in France.
