As I had discussed back in January 2015, changes to the moribund French-qualified RSU regime had been proposed by the French Government which would have made granting French-qualified RSU awards again much more beneficial to both the company and the employees. Alas, the wheels in France turn slowly and we are still waiting for the law to be adopted.
What has happened in the meantime is as follows:
The French Parliament actually adopted the proposed law at the end of February 2015. The law was then sent to the French Senate for further debate. Unfortunately, at the Senate level, the law was amended and the reduced vesting/holding periods now only apply to so-called SMEs. These are small and medium size companies which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding € 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding € 43 million.