As described in our client alert, the new French-qualified RSU regime (Loi Macron) finally became effective on August 7, 2015.  I have discussed the benefits for the new regime in an earlier blog post.

Unfortunately, the news is not all good.  This is because the law provides that qualified RSUs can be granted under the new regime only under a plan that has been approved by shareholders after the effective date of the law (i.e., after August 7, 2015).  Of course, we do not expect that any of our clients will ask their shareholders to approve a new plan or re-approve an existing plan just to grant French-qualified RSUs.  This means that it is currently impossible for the vast majority of our clients to rely on the new regime (with the exception of only those companies that coincidentally just approved a new plan or had shareholders approve amendments to an existing plan).  For these companies, until and unless their shareholders approve a plan, the conservative advice is to either not grant qualified RSUs or grant them in reliance on the old regime (with 2-year vesting and 2-year additional holding period, as well as employer social tax due at grant at a rate of 30%).