Read through a decision of the Douai Court of Appeal of 17 September 2009, the paper argues for the robustness of the arbitration clause under French law and the narrow room left to a reluctant party to challenge it before the courts. The decision restates the settled positions of the Cour de cassation on implicit consent to the clause, its precedence over a jurisdiction clause, and the tribunal’s jurisdiction over both pre-bankruptcy claims and tort disputes.