The Paris stock market started taking shape in the early 18th century, and first acquired prominence with trading of John Law's Company from 1717 to 1721.

From the second half of the 19th century, official stock markets in Paris were operated by the Compagnie des agents de change, directed by the elected members of a stockbrokers' syndical council.

Officially, the agents de change could not trade for their own account nor even be a counterpart to someone who wanted to buy or sell securities with their aid; they were strictly brokers, that is, intermediaries.

In Paris, only agents de change could receive a commission, at a rate fixed by law, for acting as an intermediary.

This was known generically as CATS (Computer Assisted Trading System), but the Paris version was called CAC (Cotation Assistée en Continu).

It remained on rue Quincampoix until closed by government decision on 22 March 1720, at a time when most of its activity was focused on trading the shares and other securities of John Law's Company.

The turmoil of that year and gradual unraveling of Law's system was accompanied by several relocations of the market, first to the place Vendôme then to the garden of the Hôtel de Soissons near les Halles.

The market reopened on 10 May 1795 in the Louvre Palace, in Anne of Austria's former summer apartment on the ground floor of the Petite Galerie,[7]: 73  and stayed there until 9 September 1795.

[8] In September 1795, the Bourse again closed for a few months; it reopened in January 1796 in the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, then in October 1807, moved to the Palais-Royal, and finally, in March 1818, to the former Couvent des Filles-Saint-Thomas [fr].

Brongniart had submitted his project, which was a rectangular neoclassical Roman temple with a giant Corinthian colonnade enclosing a vaulted and arcaded central chamber.

[9] On 6 November 1826, the stock exchange finally moved into the Palais Brongniart,[8]: 118-119  which was and remains owned by the City of Paris.

The Premier Marché, formerly called the Official List, includes large French and foreign companies, and most Bond issues.

The SBF-FCI index is based on a selection of convertible bonds that represent at least 70% of the total capitalization of this market, calculated twice daily.