State parties to the European Convention on Human Rights are obliged to effectively protect rights enshrined in the instrument. Therefore, any restriction of those rights cannot impair their very essence. This applies also to the right to a fair trial, regulated by Article 6(1) ECHR. The aim of this article is to analyse whether obligatory assistance of an attorney in the French civil procedure constitutes a legitimate restriction of the right to a fair trial and whether it respects the requirements set by the European Court of Human Rights.