Garnishment of Wages in France (Saisie des Rémunérations): How It Works?

1. Wage Garnishment in French Law: A Highly Regulated Enforcement Measure

The seizure of wages occupies a singular position in French enforcement law. Unlike most enforcement measures, it directly affects the debtor’s subsistence and therefore benefits from heightened legal protection. For this reason, wage garnishment has long been subject to strict procedural safeguards, judicial supervision, and limits on the attachable portion of income.

Until 30 June 2025, wage garnishment remains a judicially supervised procedure, requiring prior authorisation from the enforcement judge and the failure of a mandatory conciliation attempt. From 1 July 2025, however, a major reform will profoundly transform the procedure by transferring its implementation to commissaires de justice, while maintaining strong protections for employees.

Understanding both regimes is essential for creditors seeking to recover debts efficiently while avoiding procedural nullities.

2. Procedure Until 30 June 2025: Mandatory Judicial Authorisation and Conciliation

Until 30 June 2025, a creditor cannot garnish wages without first obtaining authorisation from the enforcement judge following an unsuccessful conciliation attempt.

The competent judge is the enforcement judge of the judicial court where the employee-debtor is domiciled. If the debtor resides abroad or has no known domicile, jurisdiction lies with the court of the employer’s domicile.

One of the distinctive features of this procedure is its accessibility. The creditor may seize the judge without a lawyer and without a commissaire de justice by filing a written application with the court registry. This application must include:

• a copy of the judgment ordering payment,

• proof of service of that judgment on the debtor,

• and a certificate confirming that no appeal has been lodged.

Where the creditor relies on a court of appeal judgment, only a copy of the judgment and its service on the debtor are required.

A standardised application form (Cerfa n° 15708-02) is provided by the Ministry of Justice, simplifying access to the procedure.

Importantly, wage garnishment cannot be pursued through alternative enforcement routes. The courts have consistently ruled that only the procedure set out in the Labour Code may be used to seize wages, even where the employer is a former employer. Attempts to use saisie-attribution or other enforcement mechanisms are systematically invalidated.

The existence of a liquidation or insolvency judgment does not, in itself, authorise wage garnishment. Only a creditor holding an enforceable title establishing a liquid and due claim may initiate this procedure.

3. Judicial Hearing and Decision: Conciliation First, Garnishment Second

Once the application is filed, the court registry summons both creditor and debtor at least 15 days before the hearing. The judge must first attempt conciliation.

If conciliation fails, the judge verifies the amount of the debt, including principal, interest, and costs, and rules on any objections raised by the debtor. The judge may then authorise the garnishment.

If the debtor fails to attend the hearing, the judge may still order the garnishment, unless a further summons is deemed necessary.

Wage garnishment may apply to ongoing obligations, such as indemnities for occupation owed by a tenant, allowing the creditor to collect over time for as long as the obligation continues.

Even after a conciliation attempt, the creditor retains the right to pursue other enforcement measures against the debtor’s assets, unless a clear and unequivocal waiver has been recorded.

4. Role of the Court Registry and Employer Under the Current Regime

Once authorisation is granted, the creditor has no procedural advantage in involving a commissaire de justice. The court registry itself serves the garnishment order on the employer by registered letter, while the employee receives a copy by ordinary mail.

Within 15 days of notification, the employer must declare:

• the nature of the employment relationship,

• any existing wage assignments or garnishments,

• any administrative seizures or direct payments of maintenance obligations.

Failure to declare, or making a false declaration without legitimate reason, exposes the employer to severe sanctions, including a civil fine of up to €10,000 and potential damages.

Each month, the employer must send the withheld sums to the court registry until the debt is extinguished. If the employer fails to remit the sums, it may be declared personally liable for the amounts due by the employee.

5. Limits on Garnishment: Quotité Saisissable and Protected Income

French law strictly limits the portion of wages that may be seized, except for maintenance claims.

The attachable portion is calculated using a statutory scale that takes into account the employee’s net remuneration (after social contributions and withholding tax) and family dependants. In all cases, the employer must leave the employee with at least the equivalent of the RSA for a single person, set at €635.71 as of 1 January 2025.

The scale applies progressively, and its thresholds are increased by €143.33 per month for each dependant, including:

• a spouse or partner with resources below the RSA,

• dependent children,

• dependent ascendants with insufficient resources.

Included in the attachable base are overtime, paid leave indemnities, bonuses, benefits in kind, and gratuities. Reimbursements of professional expenses are excluded.

Where multiple creditors garnish the same wages, small claims not exceeding €500 are paid in priority, reflecting a policy choice favouring the rapid extinction of minor debts.

6. The Reform Effective 1 July 2025: Dejudicialisation of Wage Garnishment

From 1 July 2025, wage garnishment will undergo a structural reform introduced by the Justice Ministry’s 2023 programming law.

The reform abolishes prior judicial authorisation and entrusts the procedure directly to commissaires de justice. However, it does not alter the scale of attachable wages or the rule protecting a minimum subsistence amount.

Under the new regime, the commissaire de justice may initiate wage garnishment provided that:

• the creditor holds an enforceable title establishing a liquid and due claim, and

• a prior command to pay has been served on the debtor and has remained ineffective for one month.

If payment is not forthcoming, the commissaire de justice serves a wage garnishment record on the employer between one and three months after the command to pay. Failure to act within this timeframe renders the command void.

Each garnishment is recorded in a national digital register, designed to centralise information on ongoing wage seizures and prevent overlapping or abusive enforcement.

The debtor may contest the garnishment before the enforcement judge at any time. If the contestation is lodged within one month of service of the command to pay, it suspends the procedure; beyond that period, it does not.

7. Employer Obligations and Payment of the Creditor Under the New Regime

The employer’s obligations remain largely unchanged. The employer must provide strictly necessary information relating to the employment relationship, remuneration, and existing seizures, in compliance with constitutional requirements limiting data transmission.

Failure to comply exposes the employer to civil fines and damages.

Payments are no longer made to the court registry. Instead, a commissaire de justice répartiteur designated by the National Chamber of Commissaires de Justice receives the monthly sums withheld by the employer and redistributes them to the creditor.

This reform aims to accelerate enforcement while preserving employee protections and judicial oversight through targeted contestation mechanisms.