Complicity



By definition, an accomplice is not the person who commits the offence. However, the Criminal Code provides that an accomplice is subject to the same penalties as those incurred by the principal offender.

Thus, whether a person is the principal offender or an accomplice has no impact on the penalties incurred.

To be recognized as an accomplice under French law, three elements are required.

  1. A punishable principal offence

The punishable principal offence may be:

  • A felony, a misdemeanour, or a petty offence 
  • Exception: complicity through aid or assistance can only apply to a felony or a misdemeanour

The offence may be completed or attempted; intentional or unintentional.

The act must be punishable, but not necessarily punished. Therefore, there can be no complicity when:

  • There is a legal justification for the principal offender 
  • The principal offender benefits from an immunity that prevents prosecution 
  • The limitation period has expired
  • There is an amnesty

However, it does not matter whether the principal offender was actually punished or not.

  1. The material act of complicity 

(1) Complicity through aid or assistance 

According to Article 121-7, paragraph 1 of the French Criminal Code, “a person is an accomplice to a felony or misdemeanour when, knowingly, by aid or assistance, they have facilitated its preparation or commission.”

A material or moral act is therefore required, meaning, in principle, a positive act and not a mere omission.

By exception, omission may constitute aid or assistance if:

  • This omission amounts to encouragement, for example when the person who fails to act has moral authority over the offender, provided that this person is present at the scene;
  • This omission is committed by a person who has a legal duty to act, particularly due to their profession;

      It is not necessary for the aid or assistance to have been indispensable. It is also not necessary for it to have been materially useful; it is sufficient that the aid or assistance strengthened the offender’s resolve or supported their decision to act.

      Finally, the aid or assistance must take place before or during the offence. Acts occurring after the offence are only punishable if there was a prior agreement, or if they reveal a prior act constituting complicity.

      (2) Complicity by instigation (provocation or provision of instructions) 

      According to Article 121-7, paragraph 2 of the French Criminal Code, “a person is also an accomplice if, by gift, promise, threat, order, abuse of authority or power, they have provoked the commission of an offence or given instructions to commit it.”

      Provocation is the act of influencing the offender’s will to the point of determining them to commit the offence.

      The provocation must be specific (using means, so-called supporting elements), definite, direct, personal, and in principle followed by the principal punishable offence.

      The provision of instructions does not need to be detailed, but it must be sufficiently precise and personal, even though it can be conveyed through a third party: it consists in providing the information necessary to commit the offence.

      1. The mental element (mens rea) 

      Regarding the mental element, negligence is not sufficient; it is necessary to have (i) knowledge of the planned criminal act and (ii) awareness of associating oneself with that act.


      Penalties 

      According to Article 121-6 of the French Criminal Code, the accomplice is punished as the principal offender. They are therefore, in principle, liable to the same penalties.

      The accomplice is considered as a perpetrator, but not as the principal offender. This means that:

      • Les circonstances personnelles (propres à l’auteur) ne s’étendent pas au complice (ex. absence de discernement du mineur ou d’un handicapé mental auteur)
        • Les circonstances réelles s’étendent au complice (ex. les circonstances aggravantes, comme le vol avec usage d’une arme), dès lors que l’infraction est de même nature que celle à laquelle le complice entendait s’associer (complicité pour tous les éléments prévisibles) 

      Note 1: it is possible to be an accomplice to an attempted offence, but it is not possible to attempt to be an accomplice.

      Note 2: When a person pays someone to kill another person, but the offence is not carried out, they may still be prosecuted for criminal solicitation (applicable only to murder and poisoning) (Article 221-5-1 of the French Criminal Code).

      Note 3: a person who remains passive in the face of an offence may be prosecuted for complicity or for failure to assist a person in danger (Article 223-6 of the French Criminal Code).


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      Article date: November 18, 2025 | By Lois Pamela LESOT