The French Trustee's Ownership

To be, or not to be [owner]: that is the question? This has been asked about the French trustee (fiduciaire). Various authors deny that the French trustee is the owner of the trust property. The main reason behind this denial lies in the special characteristics of the right of ownership, which is limited by obligations and is also temporary because his ownership exists only if the trust does. These characteristics are far removed from the traditional description of the right ownership given by section 544 of the Civil Code. Nonetheless, when comparing the special characteristics of the right of ownership of the French trustee with the characteristics of the traditional notion of ownership (absolute, perpetual and exclusive) we must conclude that the French trustees¿ ownership is not that much different from traditional ownership. Therefore, the French trustee must be considered as the owner of the trust property.