Practical guide · French shares

Holding French shares: bearer, direct registered or intermediary registered?

Already hold shares through a bank or broker and want to understand a club’s or bonus scheme’s conditions? Start by identifying how your shares are registered and who manages them.

This guide explains French shareholding arrangements for existing shareholders. Its examples concern LVMH and Air Liquide; other companies or markets may use different rules.

Guide sources checked on 21 October 2026

Compare the three shareholding options

With bearer shares, a financial intermediary holds your account. With registered shares, your name is entered in the company’s register: directly for direct registered holdings, or through your intermediary for intermediary registered holdings.

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Account management, registration and procedures: the main distinctions
Point to compare	Bearer (au porteur)	Intermediary registered (nominatif administré)	Direct registered (nominatif pur)
Who manages the account?	Your bank or broker.	Your bank or broker, with your shares registered in your name with the company.	The company or its appointed account keeper.
Registration in your name with the company	Holding bearer shares does not itself constitute registered holding.	Yes, while your intermediary continues to manage the account.	Yes, in an account opened with the company or its appointed provider.
Who handles account requests?	Your financial intermediary.	Your financial intermediary.	The service or account keeper designated by the company.
Which fees should you check?	Your intermediary’s fee schedule.	Your intermediary’s fee schedule and any conversion fees.	The company’s or provider’s terms, including any brokerage and transfer fees.

Direct registration does not mean that every service is free or that the company does everything itself. LVMH, for example, states that Uptevia handles the administrative management of its direct registered accounts. Account arrangements and the conditions of each benefit need separate checks.

Registration, club membership and a bonus: three checks

Registered holding describes how your shares are recorded. Club membership involves an application or procedure specific to that club. A loyalty bonus has its own conditions, including any holding period. Evidence of one of these steps does not necessarily confirm the other two.

For the programme you are interested in, identify the accepted holding forms, eligible securities, any minimum holding, required duration and procedure. The examples below show why you need to read the conditions of the particular benefit, even when you know how your shares are held.

PEA and securities accounts: a separate question

A PEA (Plan d’épargne en actions) is a French investment account wrapper; bearer or registered describes the shareholding arrangement. The account’s name alone does not establish registered status or eligibility for a programme.

Air Liquide explains that shareholders can ask their financial institution to convert Air Liquide shares held in a PEA to intermediary registered form while keeping the PEA. It also states that a direct registered PEA cannot be opened with or transferred to Air Liquide. This statement concerns Air Liquide: confirm the procedure and your institution’s support for it.

Before making a request, ask what operations would take place on your account. A request for intermediary registration and a transfer to a direct registered account are not interchangeable.

Two verified examples: LVMH and Air Liquide

These examples illustrate two kinds of conditions. They do not rank companies or benefits.

LVMH: the Club accepts bearer and registered shares

The rules allow individuals holding at least one eligible LVMH share, either a Paris-listed bearer share or a registered share, to join the Club. Direct registration is therefore not a general entry requirement for this Club.

Joining remains a separate procedure: the rules request a securities account statement from the financial intermediary dated less than three months earlier. Membership starts when the Club’s confirmation is received and lasts two years, provided you remain a shareholder. Holding a share, even in registered form, does not itself confirm membership.

Read the Actionary programme record →

Air Liquide: registration and holding duration matter for the bonus

Air Liquide provides a 10% increase in the dividend amount and in the number of free shares during attributions, subject to the programme’s conditions. Both direct and intermediary registered shares can qualify for this bonus; bearer holding alone does not qualify.

The shares must have been held in registered form for two full calendar years and still be held on the dividend payment date, or on the day before attribution for the relevant free shares. A full calendar year runs from 1 January to 31 December, making the effective registration date essential.

Consult the official timetable for the relevant year and confirm the date recorded for your shares. Sending a form does not prove that conversion has been completed. The company’s articles and programme limits still apply; the linked Actionary record brings together the details and their sources.

Read the Actionary programme record →

Questions to ask your intermediary

To get a usable answer, specify the company, the shares concerned and your account type. Then ask:

How are these shares currently held, and which document confirms this?
Do you support intermediary registration for these shares in this account, particularly if it is a PEA?
What fees and processing times apply to the intended procedure? Is there an internal deadline?
Which confirmation will show the effective registration date? What happens to any holding period already accrued?
What proof of ownership can you provide for the club, and will future purchases require a new request?

Check with the issuer when the question concerns eligibility for its benefit. Use only the designated official channels for procedures and evidence; Actionary does not receive shareholding documents or transfer requests.

Frequently asked questions

Are all my shares held in the same form?

Do not infer this from having a single account. Air Liquide, for example, states that further purchases through a financial institution are bearer shares by default and require their own conversion formalities. Check the holdings and quantities concerned.

Does bearer holding exclude me from clubs?

No: the LVMH Club rules accept bearer shares. Eligibility and the application procedure depend on the club; compare your holding form with its official conditions.

Does intermediary registration give me a bonus immediately?

Registration alone does not demonstrate that every condition has been met. At Air Liquide, you must notably meet the holding period and retain the shares on the required dates. Check the effective date and the rights attached to your shares.

Official sources consulted

The date above records consultation of this guide’s sources. The AMF’s general article is dated 18 October 2018; examples and practical details were cross-checked against company documents, including Air Liquide’s 2026 factsheets. Linked programme records retain their own verification dates.