The €57bn (£38.67bn) Sanofi-Aventis merger in the first half of 2004 dominated the French corporate market last year. The scramble for work on the deal meant that several firms shot up the M&A league tables. Bredin Prat's role for Aventis, as the company launched its hostile bid for Sanofi-Synthélabo, meant the French independent overtook Clifford Chance and Linklaters to come top of the table. Eight of the top 10 firms in Mergermarket's French M&A tables by value had roles on Sanofi. Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, Linklaters and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz acted for Sanofi; Bredin Prat joined Sullivan & Cromwell for Aventis; and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer , Herbert Smith and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom scooped roles for the various banks involved.

But the French independents are still reporting continued growth. Bredin Prat 's turnover rose by 8 per cent to g 45m (£30.5m) from 2003's €39m (£26.5m) on the back of its involvement in such deals as Sanofi. But the deal was still not enough to secure a first-time place in The Lawyer Euro 100. None of the independent French firms has yet declared an intention to follow Gide Loyrette Nouel's international strategy. Although Gide is still headquartered in France, it is increasingly international, with offices in 17 jurisdictions. It recorded European revenues of €106.14m (£72m) in 2004, with another €11m (£7.5m) coming from outside Europe. Profitability is €700,000 (£474,930) per equity partner.

As part of the global CMS network, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre (BFL) is officially an independent firm. Turnover last year rose slightly, bringing in just under €104m (£70.6m) in Europe - another €5m (£3.4m) comes from the firm's non-European offices, including Shanghai, New York and three in South America. Profit per equity partner (PEP) was up 16 per cent, from €445,000 (£301,900) to €530,000 (£359,600). Outside high-level corporate work, France's legal market is still dominated by accountancy-tied firms. Of the big four, EY Law and Landwell retain links to Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers respectively; Fidal and Taj, meanwhile, have shed their respective connections to KPMG and Deloitte & Touche.

Fidal 's mammoth 1,200-lawyer operation encompasses 100 offices across France and brought in €250m (£169.6m) in 2004, a rise of 6 per cent on 2003. But the firm is still running with a rockbottom profit margin of 11 per cent and PEP of just €109,000 (£73,900). EY Law , meanwhile, instituted a voluntary redundancy programme last spring, shedding 85 lawyers and 15 support staff. This had no effect on 2004's revenues of €114m (£77.3m), but EY Law expects 2005's income to drop to around g 100m (£67.8m). However, the firm hopes that profitability next year will be up from an already impressive €651,000 (£441,700) per equity partner.

Landwell & Associés has also lost many people over the past two years, as partners and assistants have decamped in the wake of the 'French Sarbanes-Oxley Act'. The firm's profit margin remains steady at just under 25 per cent, equating to a PEP figure of €350,000 (£237,500), while revenues stand at €80m (£54.3m). Taj , the firm formerly known as Deloitte, saw turnover remain static at €63.9m (£43.4m). Taj is much smaller than its competitors, with 30 partners and 200 fee-earners, but its €2.13m (£1.45m) revenue per partner (RPP) is double that of Fidal and 50 per cent more than EY Law's. Profit is on a par with BFL and Gide.

Other key French firms include Darrois Villey Maillot & Brochier , which boasted a turnover above €30m (£20.4m) for the first time; Jeantet & Associés , which rose 10 per cent to €31.7m (£21.5m); and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, which is one of the few remaining large French independents and which reported both a rise in turnover and a high RPP figure.