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The Lyons Bourse, the predecessor of the Paris Stock Exchange, is estabilished in 1540.
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In 1724, an order of the Royal Council of State authorized the creation of a stock exchange in Paris. (Under article XI, women were refused admittance under any pretext whatsoever, a measure finally repealed in 1967.) Another order from 1774 created a special trading area within the Bourse called the parquet (floor). This was reserved for agents de change, who were required to shout out market prices—hence the term "open outcry."
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In the turmoil of 1793, the Bourse was closed and joint-stock companies were abolished. On September 9th, 1795, the Bourse was closed ‘permanently’—only to reopen on October 20th with 24 agents de change. It marked the start of an important transition period in which the French general public started to trust 'paper money' and the French Stock Exchange gains official status.
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On 2 May 1967, a single national company was established composed of the 118 agents operating on the seven French provincial stock exchanges ( Lyons, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille, Nantes, Nancy and Toulouse). However, the Toulouse Bourse was later closed in 1967.
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MATIF(Marché à Terme International de France), a futures exchange, is
launched primarily to trade contracts on
government bonds. In 1988, the MATIF added commodity contracts such as corn to its range of products. -
MONEP is the abbreviation for Marché des Options Négociables de Paris, the Paris-based options market specializing in stock and index options. It was established on the 10th of September 1987 in Paris, France.
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The Stock Market Reform Act of January 1988 creates
the Société des Bourses Françaises
(SBF), replacing the former
Compagnie des Agents de Change. The SBF is incorporated as a limited company which means that members are no longer civil servants. -
France’s four market operators –
SBF, Matif SA, Monep SA and
Société du Nouveau Marché –
merge to form a new company,
ParisBourseSBF SA. -
Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris exchanges merge to create
Euronext N.V., the first pan-European exchange. Euronext subsequently expanded to include the Portuguese stock exchange and London's International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE). -
NYSE and Euronext Merge On April 4, NYSE Euronext is formed out of the merger of NYSE Group, Inc. and Euronext N.V. The merger marked a milestone for global financial markets by bringing together major marketplaces across Europe and the United States. NYSE Euronext is now the world's largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization.
