(Faculty of Law in Kragujevac, 2021) Marinković, Milica
The author gives an overview of civil and criminal measures against fiduciary abuses in France in the 19th century. As taking too high interest rates was the most common abuse, the focus of the work was on usury, but it was also accompanied by other fraudulent actions. In the 19th century, the French economy and society went a long way from the feudal agrarian to the capitalist industrial economy, and in the process of that transition, unofficial usurious lenders played an important role. The question of whether interest should be limited or not was raised in theory throughout the nineteenth century. Practice has shown that interest rate limitation is necessary and useful, so the legislation responded by prescribing the highest interest rate and incriminating usury as an occupation.