Halcyon Retreat investors are caught in two proceedings that run at the same time, before two courts, on two different timetables. The liquidation of SAS Halcyon Retreat has been open before the commercial court of Guéret since 23 June 2026. A judicial investigation is being conducted in Bordeaux.
The costly mistake is to think that one replaces the other. Filing a proof of claim does not make you a civil party, and joining the criminal case as a civil party does not release you from filing your claim with the liquidator. Each proceeding has its own steps, its own emails and its own documents.
What are the steps of the Halcyon Retreat proceedings for an investor? The short answer
The steps of the Halcyon Retreat proceedings for an investor run through two separate procedures. The investor files a proof of claim with the liquidator by 9 November 2026 if they do not live in metropolitan France (art. R. 622-24 French Commercial Code). The investor can then join the criminal case as a civil party before the investigating judge, with no equivalent deadline, for as long as the investigation is open (art. 87 French Code of Criminal Procedure). Filing a claim does not prevent joining as a civil party (Cass. crim., 30 Jan. 2019, no. 18-81.460). Admission of a claim is not payment: unsecured creditors are paid last (art. L. 643-8 French Commercial Code).
The commercial proceedings: the liquidation before the commercial court of Guéret
These proceedings decide the fate of your claim against the company. They involve a liquidator, who receives the proofs of claim and verifies them, and a supervising judge (juge-commissaire), who admits or rejects them.
The judgment opening the liquidation
What happens. The commercial court of Guéret opened the liquidation of SAS Halcyon Retreat on 23 June 2026. Activity stops and the assets will be sold. Publication of the judgment in the Bodacc (the French official gazette of commercial notices) on 9 July 2026 starts the clock for filing claims.
Documents to read. The judgment of 23 June 2026 and the Bodacc notice of 9 July 2026, which is added as an exhibit to the proof of claim.
What comes next. File a proof of claim, whatever its nature: price of an apartment, shares, loan or note guaranteed by the company. Noteholders whose notes are guaranteed by Halcyon Retreat have a dedicated article.
The proof of claim filed with the liquidator
What happens. The investor sends the liquidator the amount of the claim and the documents supporting it (art. L. 622-24 French Commercial Code). The deadline is two months from the Bodacc publication, extended by two months for creditors who do not live in metropolitan France, which gives 9 November 2026 (art. R. 622-24 French Commercial Code). A French lawyer can file on behalf of a client without a special power of attorney (Cass. ass. plén., 26 Jan. 2001, no. 99-15.153).
Email received. Filing online on the liquidator’s website triggers an automatic email, sent from a "do not reply" address, titled "Accusé de réception de saisie d’une créance" (acknowledgment of receipt of a claim). Do not reply to it. It asks for no signature.
Document received. The PDF attached to that email is the acknowledgment of receipt. It records the date and time of filing, the identity of the creditor and of the representative, the amount claimed, the observations, and the name and size of the file filed. It proves what was filed, and when. A postal receipt does not prove the content of the envelope.
What comes next. Wait for verification. The detailed method is in the article on filing a proof of claim step by step (in French).
Verification of the claim by the liquidator
What happens. The liquidator draws up the list of claims and proposes to admit them, in whole or in part, or to reject them (art. L. 624-1 French Commercial Code). If he disputes a claim, he writes to the creditor, who has 30 days to reply. After that, the creditor can no longer challenge his proposal (art. L. 622-27 French Commercial Code).
Letter to expect. A letter from the liquidator, addressed to the creditor or its representative, if the claim is disputed. None has arrived to date.
What comes next. Reply within 30 days. If the liquidator disputes your claim, the reply is prepared within those 30 days (in French).
Admission or rejection by the supervising judge
What happens. The supervising judge decides whether to admit or reject the claim (art. L. 624-2 French Commercial Code). An admitted claim is entered on the list of liabilities of the liquidation.
What comes next. If the claim is rejected, an appeal is possible within a short deadline. The article on challenging a rejected claim (in French) sets out the steps.
Payment of creditors
What happens. An admitted claim is not a paid claim. Unsecured creditors are paid only after privileged creditors, out of the proceeds of the asset sales, in proportion to their claims (art. L. 643-8 French Commercial Code).
What comes next. The timetable depends on the sale of the assets, which no source allows us to fix today.
The criminal proceedings: the judicial investigation before the investigating judge in Bordeaux
These proceedings target the perpetrators. They are conducted by an investigating judge of the specialised interregional court (JIRS) of Bordeaux, against persons unknown, for organised fraud (escroquerie en bande organisée) and aggravated money laundering. They alone can lead to the perpetrators’ conviction and to damages on that basis.
Reporting to the judge and the email from the investigation registry
What happens. The victim, or their lawyer, writes to the investigating judge and to the registry to make themselves known and to request the procedure number. A victim who does not live in France chooses an address for service at their French lawyer’s office, with the lawyer’s agreement (art. 89 French Code of Criminal Procedure).
Email received. The investigation registry replies by email: the victim is recorded in its systems among the victims. It adds that victims living outside France will receive a notice by post, which they must return by post, with a copy of their identity document and a handwritten signature confirming the appointment of the lawyer.
What comes next. Wait for the notice.
The victim notice sent by registered mail
What happens. The investigating judge informs the victim that proceedings have been opened, of their right to join as a civil party and of their right to be assisted by a lawyer (art. 80-3 French Code of Criminal Procedure). The notice arrives by registered letter at the address chosen. A notice dated 12 October 2026 was posted by registered mail on 13 October and received at the law firm on 15 October.
Document received. The notice is titled "Avis à partie civile du délai prévisible d’achèvement de l’information". It sets out three rights: to ask the judge for investigative steps or to file an application to annul steps during the investigation (art. 89-1 French Code of Criminal Procedure), to know the foreseeable duration of the investigation (twelve months for offences tried by the criminal court, eighteen months for crimes), and to ask for the investigation to be closed once that period expires (art. 175-1 French Code of Criminal Procedure).
A form to return is attached to the notice. Among other things, it offers these boxes:
I wish to join as a civil party in the file referenced above. To assist me: I appoint Maître XXX of the XXX bar, at whose office I choose my address for service for the proceedings: yes / no.
What comes next. Complete the form, sign it by hand and return it by post.
Joining as a civil party
What happens. A victim can join as a civil party at any time during the investigation (art. 87 French Code of Criminal Procedure). This is done through the court’s form, or through the lawyer’s letter to the judge. The form also asks for the amount of the loss and for an answer to one question: were you shown an aerial video of the project to persuade you to invest?
Documents to attach. The judge lists the evidence on which the loss is assessed: proof and execution notices of the transfers, bank statements and certificates, SWIFT confirmations, receipts, paid invoices of the Halcyon Retreat group, and any accounting document. They are sent on paper, not printed double-sided, and USB sticks are refused.
What comes next. The file is registered, and the civil party is notified of the steps in the proceedings. The 9 November 2026 deadline does not apply to this step.
Follow-up of the investigation and closure
What happens. The civil party can ask the judge for investigative steps and file applications to annul steps (art. 89-1 French Code of Criminal Procedure). Once the foreseeable duration of the investigation has expired, the civil party can ask for the investigation to be closed (art. 175-1 French Code of Criminal Procedure). The judge then issues a closing order (art. 175 et seq. French Code of Criminal Procedure): referral to trial or dismissal.
What comes next. If the case is referred, a criminal trial takes place, at the end of which damages are fixed. A common mistake is to think that joining as a civil party dispenses with filing a claim with the liquidator. Article L. 622-24 of the French Commercial Code provides that a civil party’s deadline for filing may run from the final decision fixing its damages, where that decision comes after the opening judgment. This possibility, introduced by law no. 2025-1403 of 30 December 2025, has not yet been tested in the case law: when in doubt, file before 9 November 2026.
Your situation
These steps apply to every investor. The amount to claim, the capacity in which you file, the documents to attach and the timing of your civil party application depend on what you signed and paid. That is where the few weeks left are won or lost.
Valentin Simonnet is a lawyer at the Paris Bar. He practises commercial litigation and white-collar criminal law.
