Although there is a view that the interests of the company are simply those of its shareholders, there is a general recognition that the French company has its own distinct corporate interest. Thus when a company engages in a particular transaction it is important to verify that those commitments and duties are in the corporate interest of the company itself. The French courts are attentive to the corporate interest in particular when security is given by a company over its assets ostensibly for the benefit of a third party or notably a group to which the company belongs.