France renews its simplified anti-gift conventions – what life sciences companies operating in France need to know

France operates one of Europe's most stringent anti-gift regimes. Under Articles L.1453-3 et seq. of the Public Health Code, life sciences companies are broadly prohibited from granting any benefit to – in particular - healthcare professionals (HCPs), with limited statutory exceptions and derogations including reasonable, purpose-limited professional and scientific hospitality. Where a benefit qualifies as a derogation, it must be either declared to or authorized by the competent authority. 

A distinctive feature of this framework is the simplified convention mechanism applicable to hospitality offered to medical doctors in connection with events subject to compliance with certain conditions: rather than filing a separate declaration for each individual event, companies may bundle repetitive events into a single filing covering up to 12 months.

The 2026 simplified conventions, signed on 16 March 2026, introduce three notable changes:

• Two-year extension confirmed. The mechanism is renewed for a further two-year cycle, signalling the authorities' intent to consolidate a tool that has gained significant traction.
• COMIDENT enters the framework. For the first time, COMIDENT — the organisation representing manufacturers and distributors of dental equipment and materials — has become a signatory. This opens the door for dental sector companies to rely more explicitly on the simplified regime. A critical point, however, that the Conseil national de l'Ordre des médecins (CNOM) remains the sole signatory professional order, meaning the mechanism still applies exclusively to hospitality granted to physicians.
• New compliance deadline. For specific convention types, the participant lists must now be transmitted to the CNOM within two months of the event date.

Beyond these changes, the substance of the regime remains intact: hospitality thresholds are unchanged, and the hospitality falling outside the scope of a simplified convention continues to require a standard declaration or authorisation. 

Key Takeaways

• Strict compliance with each simplified convention's conditions is essential — any shortfall reverts the event to the standard (and more burdensome) track. Companies should update their internal processes to reflect the new two-month participant-list deadline applicable for certain types of convention.
• The scope limitation is worth highlighting for cross-border compliance teams: simplified conventions remain physician-only. Events involving other HCPs still require ordinary declarations.