A new Paris surety MGA, Trevanti, and how French construction guarantees work: the 5% retention caution, art. 1799-1 payment guarantee and EUR 12,000 rule.
Education only / verify at source / not legal advice. This page explains a new French surety business and the French statutes behind the most common construction guarantees. It is a general summary in English of French texts; the French text on Légifrance is the authoritative version. Global Guarantors publishes industry education. We aren't a surety, bank, broker or law firm, and we don't publish premiums. Speak with counsel qualified in French law before relying on anything here.
As of October 16, 2026. On October 1, 2026, MISSION, which describes itself as an "MGA Capital Partner," announced the launch of Trevanti, a Paris-based surety MGA (managing general agent) led by CEO Jean Lowe. MISSION and the trade press describe it as MISSION's first MGA in continental Europe. Trevanti says its bonds are backed by A-rated capacity. The insurer providing that capacity has not been publicly disclosed as of October 16, 2026.
Start here: Glossary · Why obligees require bonds
France has a long-established surety market, and much of it is shaped by statute. Two French laws, both decades old, shape much of the everyday demand for construction guarantees: a 1971 law that caps retention on private works at 5% and lets a contractor replace it with a surety guarantee, and a Code civil article that requires many private owners to guarantee payment to their contractor. Public contracts follow their own rules in the Code de la commande publique.
A new market entrant is a good moment to explain how those instruments work. This guide covers what has been made public about Trevanti, what a surety MGA does, the difference between a French cautionnement and a garantie autonome, and the guarantees brokers and contractors meet most often: the retention guarantee, its public-contract equivalent, and the article 1799-1 payment guarantee.
MISSION's press release, datelined London, October 1, 2026, says Trevanti "has launched to simplify broker access to France's fragmented surety market." Insurance Business reported the launch the same day, and Insurance Edge followed on October 4, 2026.
What the public sources say:
Lowe's stated rationale is broker fragmentation: "France is one of Europe's largest and most resilient surety markets, but brokers still face unnecessary complexity by having to navigate multiple providers when placing business across different bond classes."
A managing general agent underwrites and issues business on behalf of one or more insurers, under authority those insurers delegate. The insurer, not the MGA, carries the risk on its balance sheet and stands behind the bond. In surety, that means the MGA's underwriters assess the contractor or principal and issue the caution, but the obligee's protection depends on the insurer named on the instrument.
Three practical consequences follow for anyone receiving a French caution issued through an MGA:
French law distinguishes two instruments that English speakers often lump together as "bonds."
The cautionnement (surety). Code civil article 2288 defines it as the contract by which a caution undertakes to the creditor to pay the debtor's debt if the debtor defaults. It is accessory: the guarantor's liability follows the underlying debt. The construction statutes below mostly call for a caution personnelle et solidaire, a personal, joint and several caution, so the beneficiary can claim against the guarantor without first pursuing the contractor (Code civil article 2305 denies the bénéfice de discussion to a caution bound jointly and severally).
The garantie autonome (independent guarantee). Under Code civil article 2321, the guarantor undertakes to pay a sum "soit à première demande, soit suivant des modalités convenues" (on first demand, or on agreed terms). The guarantor "ne peut opposer aucune exception tenant à l'obligation garantie" (cannot raise defences based on the guaranteed obligation), and is released only for manifest abuse or fraud by the beneficiary or collusion with the principal. This is the French counterpart of the on-demand bond.
The difference matters most on public contracts, where the contractor can offer either kind as a substitute for retention.
Loi n° 71-584 du 16 juillet 1971 governs retention (retenue de garantie) on private works contracts covered by article 1779-3° of the Code civil.
Under article 1, interim payments (acomptes) may be reduced by a retention "égale au plus à 5 p. 100 de leur montant" (at most 5% of their amount), which contractually guarantees performance of the works so that any reservations (réserves) the owner records at handover (réception) can be satisfied.
The owner may not simply keep the money. It must deposit an equal sum with a stakeholder (consignataire) accepted by both parties or, failing agreement, appointed by the president of the tribunal judiciaire or tribunal de commerce.
The last paragraph of article 1 is what links this law to the surety market: the retention "n'est pas pratiquée si l'entrepreneur fournit pour un montant égal une caution personnelle et solidaire émanant d'un établissement financier figurant sur une liste fixée par décret." In plain English, if the contractor provides a joint and several caution for the same amount from an eligible financial institution, the owner does not withhold cash at all. This instrument is often called a caution de retenue de garantie, or retention bond.
For the contractor, the retention bond keeps up to 5% of every interim payment in working capital. For the owner, the protection is the same amount, held by a guarantor instead of a stakeholder.
Article 2 sets the end date. One year after handover, "faite avec ou sans réserve" (with or without reservations), the caution is released, or the deposited sums are paid to the contractor, even without a formal release, unless the owner has notified the guarantor or stakeholder by registered letter of an objection based on the contractor's failure to perform its obligations. An abusive objection exposes the objecting party to damages.
The one-year period lines up with the garantie de parfait achèvement in Code civil article 1792-6, the contractor's one-year obligation to remedy defects reported at or after handover.
Article 3 makes void any clause or arrangement that would defeat articles 1 and 2, and article 4 applies the law to subcontracts.
| Step | Cash retention | Retention caution |
|---|---|---|
| During the works | Up to 5% held from each interim payment and deposited with a stakeholder | No cash held; caution for an equal amount |
| At handover | Reservations recorded | Reservations recorded |
| One year after handover | Sums paid to the contractor unless a reasoned objection is notified | Caution released unless a reasoned objection is notified |
Public buyers apply the Code de la commande publique instead. Under article R2191-33, in force since January 1, 2025, retention may not exceed 5% of the initial contract amount plus any modifications. Where the contractor is a small or medium-sized enterprise, the cap is 3% on contracts awarded by the State, certain State public bodies, and local authorities whose operating expenses exceed EUR 60 million.
Article R2191-36 lets the contractor, throughout the contract, replace the retention with "une garantie à première demande ou, si l'acheteur ne s'y oppose pas, une caution personnelle et solidaire." The first-demand guarantee is available as of right; the caution requires the buyer not to object. Neighbouring articles in the same section provide that the guarantor must be approved by the French prudential supervisor, the ACPR (or, for a foreign guarantor, in its home country), and that guarantors are released no later than one month after the guarantee period ends, unless notified reservations remain outstanding.
Retention protects the owner. Code civil article 1799-1 protects the contractor. The owner who concludes a private works contract "doit garantir à l'entrepreneur le paiement des sommes dues" (must guarantee payment of sums due to the contractor) above a threshold fixed by decree.
Décret n° 99-658 du 30 juillet 1999 sets the threshold, excluding tax (hors taxes), at 79,000 francs and, from January 1, 2002, at EUR 12,000. The sums due are the agreed contract price, less any deposits and advance payments made when the contract was concluded.
Under the decree, the guarantor pays on the contractor's showing that the debt is "certaine, liquide et exigible" (certain, liquidated and due) and that the owner has defaulted.
While no guarantee has been provided and the contractor remains unpaid for work done, the contractor may suspend performance after a formal notice (mise en demeure) has gone unanswered for 15 days. The decree requires the notice to be sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.
The caution paragraph, including the right to suspend, does not apply where the owner contracts on its own account for needs unrelated to a professional activity connected with the contract, which generally covers private individuals contracting for their own needs. The article as a whole does not apply to contracts concluded by social housing bodies under article L. 411-2 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation, or by a société d'économie mixte, for State-aided rental housing.
| Article 1799-1 point | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Who must guarantee | The owner of a private works contract |
| Threshold | EUR 12,000 excluding tax, less deposits and advance payments made at signing |
| Route 1 | Dedicated construction loan paid only to the contractor |
| Route 2 | Joint and several caution from a bank, financing company, insurer or collective guarantee body |
| Contractor's remedy | Suspend work after a 15-day unanswered formal notice |
| Carve-outs | Caution route does not apply to owners contracting for non-professional needs; article does not apply to certain State-aided social rental housing |
A third statute links the chain. Under article 14 of loi n° 75-1334 du 31 décembre 1975, on pain of nullity of the subcontract, the main contractor must guarantee its payments to the subcontractor with a caution personnelle et solidaire from a qualified, approved institution. No caution is needed if the main contractor instead delegates the owner to pay the subcontractor directly for the work performed. It plays a role similar to the payment bond that protects subcontractors in North America.
French law is open about who may stand behind these instruments. Article 1799-1 names banks, financing companies, insurers and collective guarantee bodies side by side, and décret n° 99-658 accepts any of them with a head office or branch in an EU or European Economic Area state. Public contracts accept guarantors approved by the ACPR or by their home-country supervisor.
So the French market has no single "surety" channel. A contractor may obtain a retention caution or a first-demand guarantee from its bank, an insurer or a collective guarantee body, and the choice affects its credit lines and collateral much as it does elsewhere. Our explainer on the UK cash retention ban and surety alternatives covers the same trade-off from the British side.
MGAs add a distribution layer: specialist underwriting for brokers, with the insurer behind them providing the surety capacity. Trevanti, a French branch of an Irish-regulated company operating under the EU distribution directive, shows how EU rules let that model reach the French market.
For the North American framework, start with our contract surety guide.
What is Trevanti? A Paris-based surety MGA, launched October 1, 2026 and backed by MISSION International. It trades as the French branch of Mission Underwriting Europe Limited, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Who provides Trevanti's surety capacity? Trevanti describes its capacity as A-rated. The provider has not been publicly disclosed as of October 16, 2026.
How much retention can a French private owner hold? At most 5% of each interim payment under loi n° 71-584, and the owner must deposit an equal sum with a stakeholder.
Can a contractor avoid retention in France? Yes. On private works, by providing a caution personnelle et solidaire for the same amount. On public works, by providing a first-demand guarantee or, if the buyer does not object, a caution.
When is a French retention caution released? One year after handover, with or without reservations, unless the owner has notified a reasoned objection by registered letter.
What is the article 1799-1 payment guarantee? An obligation on the owner of a private works contract to guarantee payment to the contractor where the sums due exceed EUR 12,000 excluding tax, through a dedicated loan or a joint and several caution.
Is a French caution the same as an on-demand bond? No. A cautionnement is accessory to the underlying debt. A garantie autonome under article 2321 is independent and can be payable on first demand.
Retrieved or confirmed October 16, 2026 (PT). French legal texts as shown on Légifrance "en vigueur au 16/10/2026."
