France: Insider Trading: The Court of Cassation's Judgment on what Qualifies as ‘Privileged Information’ Available to Purchase

The provisions of s. 10–1 of the ordinance of 28th September, 1967, likewise those of EC directive 89/592 of 13th November, 1989, forbid persons who, in virtue of their profession or office, have available to them ‘privileged information’ concerning possible future changes in the price of a transferable security from carrying out dealings in the market before this knowledge becomes public: such information must be precise, confidential, of a kind to influence the price of the security and give rise to the transactions effected. In a judgment of 26th June, 1995 the Court of Cassation, quashing the Court of Appeal's ruling, held that the privileged character of the information within the meaning of the texts could not depend on the analysis that the person receiving and using it could make, but that this character must be determined objectively, excluding any arbitrariness, and in relation to its content alone.