Editing Barrister (section)

===France===
In France, ''avocats'', or attorneys, were, until the 20th century, the equivalent of barristers. The profession included several grades ranked by seniority: ''avocat-stagiaire'' (trainee, who was already qualified but needed to complete two years (or more, depending on the period) of training alongside seasoned lawyers), ''avocat'', and ''avocat honoraire'' (emeritus barrister). Since the 14th century and during the course of the 19th and 20th in particular, French barristers competed in territorial battles over respective areas of legal practice against the ''conseil juridique'' (legal advisor, transactional solicitor) and ''avoué'' (procedural solicitor), and expanded to become the generalist legal practitioner, with the notable exception of ''notaires'' (notaries), who are ministry appointed lawyers (with a separate qualification) and who retain exclusivity over conveyancing and probate. After the 1971 and 1990 legal reforms, the ''avocat'' was fused with the ''avoué'' and the ''conseil juridique'', making the ''avocat'' (or, if female, ''avocate'') an all-purpose lawyer for matters of contentious jurisdiction, analogous to an American attorney. French attorneys usually do not (although they are entitled to) act both as litigators (trial lawyers) and legal consultants (advising lawyers), known respectively as ''avocat plaidant'' and ''avocat-conseil''. This distinction is however purely informal and does not correspond to any difference in qualification or admission to the role. All intending attorneys must pass an examination to be able to enrol in one of the ''Centre régional de formation à la profession d'avocat (CRFPA)'' (Regional centre for the training of lawyers). The ''CRFPA'' course has a duration of two years and is a mix between classroom teachings and internships. Its culmination is the ''stage final'' (final training), where the intending attorney spends six months in a law firm (generally in their favoured field of practice and in a firm in which they hope to be recruited afterwards). The intending attorney then needs to pass the ''Certificat d'Aptitude à la Profession d'Avocat (CAPA)'', which is the last professional examination allowing them to join a court's bar (''barreau''). It is generally recognised that the first examination is much more difficult than the CAPA and is dreaded by most law students. Each bar is regulated by a Bar Council (''Ordre du barreau'').

A separate body of barristers exists called the ''avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de Cassation''. Although their legal background, training and status is the same as the all-purpose avocats, these have a monopoly over litigation taken to the supreme courts, in civil, criminal or administrative matters.