Marion Barbier
Head of Litigation Practice, Bird & Bird, Paris, France

Paule Drouault-Gardrat
Head of Life Sciences Practice, Bird & Bird, Paris, France

The Act which officially provides for the possibility in France for the parties to any form of litigation to try to settle their case through mediation (articles 131-1 and following of the Civil Code of Procedure) is dated 8 February 1995. Since that time, however, the development of mediation has been relatively limited and has not had any significant success. The few sectors or geographical areas where mediation has taken place are mainly because of the will of a specific judge within their jurisdiction. However, over the past three years, there have been a number of signs that mediation is in the process of developing in France, surprisingly in business matters.