On the first of March 1996, The Bourse de Paris, with the active support of the COB launched le NOUVEAU MARCHE, similar to the NASDAQ, specially designed for fast growing companies, often involved in high technology.

The COB adopted a new rule for this market. The prospectus must now include two major new items:

- a description of the risk factors which could be very important for small companies.

-a description of a 3 years business plan with some projection figures of the main points of the balance sheet and result accounts at the end of the plan.

Directive 94/18/EC amending directive 80/390/EC with regard to the obligation to publish listing particulars

The COB rule 95-02 implements in the French regulation the EC Directive 94/18 (which enlarged the EC Directive 80/390).

This rule provides that a company which is listed for three years on an official market in another state of the European Union, having a certificate of compliance from its own competent authority will be exempted from a prospectus by the COB when applying for the admission of its shares on the French official market.

To obtain this exemption, the company must make available to the French public certain information (inter alia the last prospectus published not less than 12 months previously, and the financial statements).

Finally, the company must publish a press release in French.

Disclosure on corporate governance

Recently the COB has completed its rule for the content of prospectuses and asks for additional publication on corporate governance.

This information deals with:

• the creation and the composition of specialized committees to consider specific aspects of the company's organization (audit committee, ...).
• the appointment of independent directors by the board, to represent for instance the minority shareholders.