French meeting vocabulary: ordre du jour, compte rendu, procès-verbal…

When you work with companies, associations or public bodies in Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer), formal meetings are almost always held in French, and the documents before and after are in French too. Understanding the names and wording of these documents tells you which ones are mere memos and which carry formal weight.

Before the meeting: notice and agenda

French	English	Notes
avis de convocation	Notice of meeting	Usually accompanied by the agenda; sending it as an email attachment is accepted
projet d'ordre du jour	Draft agenda	Until it is adopted at the start of the meeting, the agenda is only a draft
ordre du jour	Agenda	Lists the items to be discussed at the meeting
séance ordinaire / extraordinaire	Regular / special meeting	The agenda of a special meeting cannot be changed
questions diverses	Any other business	New items can be added here at a regular meeting

A typical agenda runs roughly as follows: opening of the meeting (ouverture de la séance), adoption of the agenda, approval of the minutes of the previous meeting, discussion item by item, any other business, date and place of the next meeting, and close of the meeting (levée / clôture de la séance).

During the meeting: verbs you will hear

adopter l'ordre du jour: to adopt the agenda. Note that the agenda is adopté, while minutes are approuvé; the two verbs are not interchangeable.
approuver le procès-verbal: to approve the minutes (of the previous meeting).
le quorum: the quorum; where the by-laws require one, check first that it has been reached.
Il est proposé que… / Il est décidé que…: "It is proposed that… / It is resolved that…", the set phrases used to record motions and decisions in formal minutes.
à l'unanimité / à la majorité: unanimously / by a majority.

After the meeting: compte rendu vs procès-verbal

English calls both "minutes", but French distinguishes two documents:

	compte rendu (c. r.)	procès-verbal (PV, P.-V.)
Nature	Internal memo summarising discussions and decisions	Official record, often required by the rules
Format	More flexible; bullet points or telegraphic style are fine	Fixed format, following the agenda item by item
Content	Place, date, attendees, agenda, key points per item, closing time, author	Also includes lists of those present and absent, quorum, chair and secretary, mover and seconder, voting results
Follow-up	No need to approve it at the next meeting	Usually approved at the next meeting and signed by the chair and/or secretary

Formal minutes are written in the present tense, impersonally, in an objective and neutral tone. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) also points out that minutes and varia are discouraged usages, to be replaced by procès-verbal and questions diverses, and that dresser un procès-verbal refers to an official act such as issuing a ticket, not to taking minutes of a meeting.

These usages are drawn from Quebec and Canadian federal French-language standards, and institutions elsewhere may have slightly different habits; for formal documents, follow any template the other party provides.

Useful phrases for chairing or attending a meeting

Je déclare la séance ouverte.: I declare the meeting open.
Avez-vous des modifications à apporter à l'ordre du jour ?: Are there any changes to the agenda?
Je propose d'ajouter ce point aux questions diverses.: I propose adding this item under any other business.
Pourriez-vous m'envoyer le compte rendu de la réunion ?: Could you send me the summary of the meeting?
La séance est levée.: The meeting is closed.

If you are representing the foreign party, confirming after the meeting who will write the minutes, when they will be sent and who will approve them makes follow-up much clearer.

One line for Asian teams

Check any procès-verbal you receive carefully, as it may become the formal reference later on; a compte rendu, on the other hand, is a good tool for confirming mutual understanding, and sending one to the other side on your own initiative earns you credit.

References: OQLF: Rédaction d'un ordre du jour; OQLF: Rédaction d'un procès-verbal; OQLF: Rédaction d'un compte rendu; Our Languages (Government of Canada): Why do minutes count?