Mathieu Françon is of counsel in the Paris office of CMS. He specializes in banking and financial law, in particular banking activities and payment services. He regularly advises French and international banks and other financial institutions on their regulated services and products, internal organization and governance, and relationships with French and European authorities. His experience also includes M&A transactions in the banking and financial sector (creation of regulated entities, change of control, transfer of activities…). He regularly assists financial institutions and their managers with regulatory investigations and enforcement procedures. He also advises European authorities on matters relating to French and European banking law. He has defended the European central bank before the Court of justice of the European Union. He has been teaching banking and financial law at Science Po Paris since 2016. He is the author of numerous articles and books. He received in 2022 the Cercle Montesquieu award as co-author of the best legal book of the year. Before joining CMS, he has been a counsel, leading the regulatory practice, at a premier law firm, and a partner at a tier one regulatory boutique in Paris. He also worked in the M&A department of a white-shoe law firm in New-York.