Up until the 1960s, France held a leading position in the art and auction market and had a 60 percent share of the global market.

Six percent of them stayed.

Due to the shifts in the international art market, the Grande Nation was pushed into fourth place.

The United States has long been in the lead with 38 percent today, closely followed by China with 32 percent.

Great Britain takes third place with 13 percent.

In order to be able to cope better with the competition, a new regulation of the French auction activity was overdue.

Still, a bill remained on hold in Parliament for more than two years before being passed in February.

Allegedly, the pandemic was to blame for the delay.

A lack of insight into the urgency may also have played a role - although the French auction market made four billion euros in 2021.

The text of the law concerns "voluntary public auctions" (as opposed to compulsory auctions) and the competent supervisory authority "Conseil des ventes volontaires de meubles aux enchères publiques" (CVV).

It should be reformed.

Until now, only movable property – “bien meubles” – could be auctioned in France.

Therefore, French auctioneers had to leave the crypto art market, which trades in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) and thus intangible assets, to foreign competition.

With the entry into force of the new regulation, immovable assets can now also go under the hammer publicly: databases, patents, trademarks, licenses - and of course NFT, unique ownership certificates for virtual or physical goods in the blockchain.

Since the supervisory authority was made up of administrative officials, it primarily had a legal control function and not one that shaped the professional division.

As “Le Figaro” quotes from the legal text, it was too far removed from reality and the changed circumstances of the art and auction markets.

The new name "Conseil des Maisons de Vente" (CMV) - "Supervisory Board of Auction Houses" - reflects a changed composition.

In addition to six ministry officials from the areas of justice, culture and business, the CMV will also include five professional representatives.

In the future, auctioneers will be able to make tax inventories for voluntary auctions.

Previously, this was only possible for foreclosures.

The formalities for private sales are also simplified.

The large international auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's in particular have been able to increase sales from over-the-counter sales since the pandemic.

It remains a symbolic gesture that the historical title of "commissaire-priseur" should be used again in its old form for the auctioneer.

It refers to the 18th century, when the auction market and the art market were established and inseparably linked in France with the auction merger in the Hôtel Drouot, which is unique in the world.