Legal Research Server for Unified Access to French Official Legal Data Sources via MCP Protocol

Droitfrancaismcp

This is a French law research server based on the MCP protocol, providing a unified access interface to French official legal data sources (Légifrance and JudiLibre), and supporting queries of laws, codes, case law, and other legal information.

Law and compliance Research and data #French Law #Legal Query #MCP Service .Python

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update time : 2025-11-12

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What is the French Law MCP Server?

This is an intelligent assistant server specifically designed for French law research, integrated into AI tools such as Claude Desktop or Cursor through the Model Context Protocol. It can directly access French official legal databases, including Légifrance (laws and regulations) and JudiLibre (case law), providing users with accurate and real - time legal information query services.

How to use the French Law MCP Server?

Before using, you need to register on the PISTE platform to obtain an API key, and then integrate the server into your AI tool through simple configuration. After integration, you can directly ask legal - related questions in natural language, and the system will automatically call the corresponding legal database to provide you with authoritative answers.

Applicable Scenarios

Suitable for legal professionals, students, researchers, and ordinary users who need to query French legal information. It can be used in various scenarios such as legal research, case analysis, regulation query, case retrieval, and legal document writing assistance.

Main Features

Légifrance Legal Search

Provide advanced search functions for all French legal databases, including the Civil Code, Criminal Code, Labor Code, etc., supporting multiple filtering conditions and full - text retrieval.

JudiLibre Case Law Search

Access the case law databases of French courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court and Administrative Court, and support filtering by court, theme, date, etc.

Legal Provision Retrieval

Directly obtain the full text content of specific legal provisions, including the latest revised version and relevant metadata information.

Legal Taxonomy Access

Provide access to the French legal taxonomy, including a list of valid courts, legal theme classifications, procedure types, and other standard terms.

Official Gazette Query

Access the French government's official gazette (JORF) to obtain the latest laws and regulations release information and government announcements.

Collective Agreement Query

Search for and access French collective labor agreements and relevant industry standard documents.

Advantages

Authoritative data source: Directly access French official legal databases to ensure the accuracy and authority of information.

Real - time update: The data is synchronized with the official database, providing the latest legal information and case law.

User - friendly: Interact through natural language without the need to master complex legal database query syntax.

Comprehensive coverage: Cover multiple legal information dimensions such as laws and regulations, case law, and official gazettes.

Free to use: Based on the free PISTE API service, no additional fees are required.

Limitations

Registration required: You must register on the PISTE platform and apply for API access rights before use.

Language limitation: Mainly focused on French legal content, with limited support for other languages.

Technology dependence: Requires a certain technical configuration ability to set up the MCP server.

Network requirement: Requires a stable network connection to access French legal databases.

Scope limitation: Focuses on the French legal system and does not include legal information from other countries.

How to Use

Obtain API Access Rights

Visit the official PISTE website (piste.gouv.fr) to register an account and apply for access rights to the Légifrance and JudiLibre APIs. Usually, it takes several working days to complete the review.

Install and Configure the Server

Download the project files and run the installation script. The system will automatically create a Python virtual environment and install all necessary dependency packages.

Configure API Credentials

Copy the environment configuration file template and fill in the CLIENT_ID and CLIENT_SECRET obtained from PISTE.

Configure the MCP Client

According to the AI tool you are using (Claude Desktop or Cursor), add the MCP server settings to the configuration file.

Start Using

Restart your AI tool, and the French Law MCP server will be automatically available. You can now ask legal - related questions in natural language.

Usage Examples

Legal Provision Research

Research the specific provisions on contract termination in the Civil Code

Case Law Analysis

Analyze the latest case law of the Supreme Court on labor law

Regulation Query

Query the full content of specific laws and regulations

Legal Concept Explanation

Understand the definition and application of specific legal concepts

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pay for using this service?

How long does it take to apply for API access rights?

Which AI tools are supported?

How often is the data updated?

Is English query supported?

How to solve technical problems?

Related Resources

PISTE Official Website

French government API platform for applying for legal database access rights

GitHub Project Repository

Download the project's source code and the latest version

Model Context Protocol

Official documentation and specifications of the MCP protocol

Légifrance Official Website

French official legal database website

Claude Desktop Download

Claude Desktop client download page

🚀 French Legal MCP Server

This project aims to explore the integration of tools into Claude Desktop via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

It is an experimental and validation effort to understand how tool orchestration can enhance the reliability, relevance, and efficiency of large language models (LLMs) when processing technical data.

In this context, the focus is on accessing reliable legal data from official sources.

The MCP server developed here provides a unified interface to query the public APIs of French law, including:

Légifrance – for legislation, codes, laws, and decrees
JudiLibre – for case law and judicial decisions

With this server, it is possible to search for and consult:

📖 French legal codes (Civil Code, Penal Code, Labor Code, etc.)
📜 Laws, ordinances, decrees, and orders
⚖️ Case law from all French jurisdictions
📰 The Official Journal of the French Republic (JORF)
🤝 Collective agreements
🏛️ Decisions of the Council of State, the Court of Cassation, and tribunals

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Access to the PISTE API

IMPORTANT: To use this server, you must obtain access to the public APIs through the official website PISTE.

You also need to validate the terms of use for the Légifrance and Judilibre APIs to confirm access.

How to Obtain Access

Create an account on piste.gouv.fr.
Request access to the following APIs:
- Légifrance API: Search and consultation of legal texts.
- JudiLibre API: Search and consultation of judicial decisions.
Retrieve your credentials:
- CLIENT_ID: Unique client identifier.
- CLIENT_SECRET: Authentication secret key.

⚠️ Important Note

The PISTE APIs are free but require prior registration. It may take a few days to activate your account.

2. System Requirements

Python 3.8+ (recommended version: 3.10+)
pip for package management
Git to clone the repository
Claude Desktop or Cursor (for MCP integration)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/jmtanguy/DroitFrancaisMCP.git
cd DroitFrancaisMCP

Or download the ZIP file of this project.

2. Installation

Run the installation script corresponding to your operating system:

Windows: install.ps1
macOS / Linux: install.sh

These scripts automatically perform the following operations:

📦 Create a Python virtual environment.
🔽 Install all necessary dependencies.
⚙️ Configure Claude Desktop to use this MCP server.

Configuration

1. Create the Environment File

# Copy the example file
cp .env.example .env

2. Fill in Your PISTE Credentials

Edit the .env file with your actual values:

# PISTE Production API Credentials
PISTE_CLIENT_ID=your_production_client_id_here
PISTE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_production_client_secret_here

# PISTE Sandbox API Credentials (optional for testing)
PISTE_SANDBOX_CLIENT_ID=your_sandbox_client_id_here
PISTE_SANDBOX_CLIENT_SECRET=your_sandbox_client_secret_here

⚠️ Important Note

The .env file contains your secrets and should NEVER be committed to Git!

3. Configure MCP Clients

Configure Claude Desktop

To use the server with Claude Desktop, check this configuration in:

macOS/Linux: ~/.config/claude-desktop/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "droit-francais": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/DroitFrancaisMCP/.venv/bin/python3",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/DroitFrancaisMCP/droit_francais_MCP.py"]
    }
  }
}

💡 Usage Tip

Replace /absolute/path/to/ with the full path to your directory.

Configure Cursor

To use the server with Cursor, add this configuration to your MCP configuration file (usually ~/.cursor/mcp.json or in Cursor settings):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "DroitFrancaisMCP": {
      "command": "<PATH_TO_DroitFrancaisMCP>/.venv/bin/python3",
      "args": [
        "-u",
        "<PATH_TO_DroitFrancaisMCP>/droit_francais_MCP.py"
      ],
      "cwd": "<PATH_TO_DroitFrancaisMCP>",
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "<PATH_TO_DroitFrancaisMCP>",
        "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1",
        "PYTHONIOENCODING": "utf-8"
      },
      "envFile": "<PATH_TO_ENV_FILE>",
      "description": "MCP server for French legal research (Légifrance, JudiLibre)",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

💡 Usage Tip

Replace <PATH_TO_DroitFrancaisMCP> with the full path to your DroitFrancaisMCP directory.

Replace <PATH_TO_ENV_FILE> with the full path to your .env file containing the PISTE credentials.

Usage

Start the Server

With Claude Desktop

Restart Claude Desktop.
The server should appear in the list of available MCP servers.
You can now use the tools directly in Claude.

With Cursor

Restart Cursor.
The server should appear in the list of available MCP servers.
You can now use the tools directly in Cursor via the MCP protocol.

Examples

In Claude Desktop or Cursor, try:

Search for articles on marriage in the Civil Code

What are the recent decisions of the Court of Cassation regarding dismissal for serious misconduct?

Give me the full text of Law No. 2021 - 1109 of August 24, 2021, on respect for the principles of the Republic

Claude or Cursor will automatically identify the appropriate MCP tools to query official sources and present you with the corresponding results.

✨ Features

🔍 Légifrance Search

Advanced search across all French legal databases
Powerful filters: by nature, date, jurisdiction, ministry, etc.
Article consultation: full text with complete metadata
Multi-database support: codes, laws, JORF, case law, collective agreements

⚖️ JudiLibre Search

Case law search in all French jurisdictions
Contextual filters: jurisdiction, chamber, location, outcome, theme
Full text of decisions with structured sections
Complete taxonomy: access to valid value lists (chambers, formations, themes)

🛠️ Technical Features

Secure OAuth 2.0 authentication
Automatic token management
Detailed logging for debugging
Sandbox and Production modes
Parameter validation
Error handling

📦 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/jmtanguy/DroitFrancaisMCP.git
cd DroitFrancaisMCP

Or download the ZIP file of this project.

2. Installation

Run the installation script corresponding to your operating system:

Windows: install.ps1
macOS / Linux: install.sh

These scripts automatically perform the following operations:

📦 Create a Python virtual environment.
🔽 Install all necessary dependencies.
⚙️ Configure Claude Desktop to use this MCP server.

💻 Usage Examples

Basic Usage

In Claude Desktop or Cursor, you can use the following commands:

Search for articles on marriage in the Civil Code

What are the recent decisions of the Court of Cassation regarding dismissal for serious misconduct?

Give me the full text of Law No. 2021 - 1109 of August 24, 2021, on respect for the principles of the Republic

Advanced Usage

The server provides a unified interface to query French legal APIs. You can use the available tools to perform more complex searches and retrievals.

📚 Documentation

Available Tools

Légifrance

Tool	Description
`rechercher_droit_francais()`	Advanced multi-criteria search across all legal databases
`obtenir_article()`	Retrieve the full text of an article with metadata

JudiLibre

Tool	Description
`rechercher_jurisprudence_judilibre()`	Search for judicial decisions with advanced filters
`obtenir_decision_judilibre()`	Retrieve the full text of a decision
`obtenir_taxonomie_judilibre()`	Access valid value lists (chambers, jurisdictions, etc.)

Architecture

DroitFrancaisMCP/
├── droit_francais_MCP.py          # Main MCP server
├── api_legifrance.py              # Légifrance API client
├── api_legifrance_search_input.py # Légifrance query models
├── api_legifrance_search_output.py# Légifrance response models
├── api_judilibre.py               # JudiLibre API client
├── test_api_legifrance.py         # Légifrance tests
├── test_api_judilibre.py          # JudiLibre tests
├── requirements.txt               # Python dependencies
├── .env.example                   # Configuration template
└── README.md                      # Documentation

Main Components

droit_francais_MCP.py: MCP server that exposes tools via FastMCP
api_legifrance.py: Légifrance API client with OAuth authentication
api_judilibre.py: JudiLibre API client with token management
Tests: Scripts to validate functionality

🔧 Technical Details

Testing

Test the Légifrance API

python3 test_api_legifrance.py

Test the JudiLibre API

python3 test_api_judilibre.py

Using pytest

pytest test_api_legifrance.py -v
pytest test_api_judilibre.py -v

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

🔗 Useful Links

PISTE Official Website - API access request
Model Context Protocol - MCP specification
Claude Desktop - Claude application
Cursor - Code editor with MCP support

🤖 AI-assisted Development

This project was developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools:

Claude (Anthropic) - Development assistant and code generation
GitHub Copilot - Code autocompletion

The use of these tools has accelerated development while maintaining high code quality and comprehensive documentation. All generated elements have been reviewed, validated, and adapted to the specific needs of the project.