France's Council of State has rejected an emergency motion filed by cryptocurrency companies Bull Bitcoin and Paymium seeking to immediately suspend a French decree implementing the European Union's Eighth Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8).
The court determined that the applicants failed to demonstrate sufficient urgency to warrant an emergency stay. According to court documentation, the tribunal ruled that "the mere possibility of a risk, the probability of which is very low, cannot constitute a situation of urgency." The decision does not address the underlying legality of the decree.
Data Centralization Concerns
Bull Bitcoin and Paymium argued in their petition that the centralized collection of digital asset user data creates an immediate threat to user safety and physical security. The companies warned that leaked databases could be exploited by criminals to locate, extort, or kidnap cryptocurrency holders and their families.
The applicants cited France's General Directorate of Public Finances, which acknowledged during parliamentary discussions in February 2026 that centralizing identity and asset values in large databases could create high-value targets for cyberattacks and fraud. In August 2026, France's tax agency admitted that a hacker had stolen data from 678,438 taxpayers, prompting calls from crypto industry participants for a moratorium on state data collection.
Ongoing Legal Challenge
While the emergency motion was denied, a separate lawsuit seeking complete annulment of the decree remains active before the Council of State. Bull Bitcoin founder Francis Pouliot emphasized that the dismissal concerns only grounds of urgency and does not constitute a loss on the substantive merits of the case.
DAC8 entered into force across the European Union on January 1, 2026. Registered crypto asset service providers must complete their initial reporting for the 2026 calendar year by September 30, 2027, ahead of automatic cross-border data exchanges among EU tax authorities.
