NFT sales continue to create a buzz around the world. Auctions are available everywhere, except in France. As the French National Assembly is due to debate the issue on Wednesday, and the Senate on February 22, the mood in the auction houses is upbeat.
Despite an increasing number of record-breaking NFTs sold at auction all over the world, France has so far been left out of the euphoria. And with good reason: auctioneers are not authorized to sell intangible assets not attached to a physical asset. As a result, France is the last country to have such restrictive regulations, forcing players to resort to sleight of hand.
Withdrawn by the Conseil des ventes
The young Fauve Paris auction house, which had hoped to get around the obstacles by holding a private, invitation-only NFT auction, in derogation of the ban on public auctions, was also rejected by the Conseil des ventes volontaires.
Last Thursday, the market watchdog summoned Lucie-Eléonore Riveron, president ofFauve Paris, for an adversarial hearing with a view to a possible suspension of activity if she were to maintain this cryptoart sale. “The president of the CVV, Henri Paul, told us that, as the legislation stood, we could either turn ourselves into an art gallery, because galleries can sell NFTs, or we could auction off our work abroad! And that’s what we’re going to do,” explains the dejected young entrepreneur.
Community law versus French law
“France is the start-up nation, it boasts of producing unicorns, but doesn’t allow public auctions of NFTs, unlike every other country in the world,” laments his partner Dimitri Joannidès. “Our aim was to present solutions to make this sale happen. Our argument? Community law is superior to French law, and provides for sanctions in the event of reverse discrimination: you can’t prohibit nationals in the European area from doing something that is allowed to foreigners who would be exercising their rights in France”, he adds.
“There’s a legal vacuum, and we don’t agree with their interpretation of the French Commercial Code”, insists Dimitri Joannidès, who considers France to be outlawed.Irreceivable for the CVV, which is nevertheless aware of the problem: not only will it be organizing a symposium on the subject at the Institut de France on March 1, but it has already commissioned a report from one of its members, who is particularly favorable to NFT sales.
Fauve Paris believes that the timing of this summons is bad, coming on the heels of the publication of this report and just before this week’s parliamentary debates on the wider authorization of intangible asset auctions.
And time is running out. For while public auctions of NFT art were still limited in 2021 according to Artprice – which counted 265 worldwide for a total of $227 million – they could well explode this year.
By Martine Robert, February 9, 2022